Our Calling in Unjust Suffering

1 Peter 2:18-25

Reasons we are obeying boss (Picture)

As we live, we meet many supervisors or leaders or bosses. It is common sense that we obey our leaders in our life, because everyone officially has given the leadership to certain bosses or supervisors. So our role is of course to obey them.

Of course, there may be many reasons for obeying your leaders rather than the leaderships. For example, you may think that if I do not obey my boss, I may be kicked out from the company. You may also obey your boss because you think you can be promoted by your boss. What people have in common to obey their leaders is that when people feel trapped at work, they obey the boss because they need to keep their jobs, which means, they only focus on their benefits. Because of my profits, fame, and promotion, we obey the boss.

Submitting to our masters with all respect

After describing the social obligations of all disciples in 1 Peter 2:11-17, Peter commands, “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are harsh” (2:18)

How do we submit to our masters? We obey our masters with all respect. Scholars are arguing if the phrase, “with the respect and fear” modifies God or masters. But as we should obey the government not for the government but for the Lord in 1 Peter 2:13, it seems that obeying the harsh master not by fearing them but fearing God is more coherent. We can see here that the motivation for obeying the harsh leaders is different from the motivation of non-believers.

The Greek word, "Oiketes" for slaves denotes house-hold slaves. It is different from the American slaves in 19th century, which was race base, had limited paths to freedom. There were several kinds of slaves in the empire. People became slaves through war, poverty, or birth to enslaved parents. Slaves could be well educated. A slave might be a doctor, teacher, shipbuilder, or even city treasures. Even if there is no precise analogy between slaves and free workers today, Peter’s instructions do apply to all who serve harsh or perverse leaders.

The concept of submission assumes that this world has God-given structures and authorities. Nonetheless, we find the command daunting, possibly without fully realizing why. If we have an angry or unjust supervisor and feel trapped by him, we are tempted to return anger for anger, disrespect for disrespect. Yet Peter commands believers to submit, with respect, to difficult leaders at home and at work. We can extend the principle to schools, churches, and governments.

“Unjust suffering,” is familiar to me. What about you? (Relevance)

While I am living in Korea and the U.S., I met many supervisors and leaders. Some bosses are generous and kind, so it is not very difficult for me to obey them. Because they are good to me, I am able to obey them with joy. However, as you know, not all bosses are kind and generous.

In South Korea, if you are a male, it is mandatory for a male to go to military service around two years. It is generally called a small society. There are many characteristics in the military. One of them is that there are the upper and lower classes, and when the senior gives orders to the junior, obeying them is the most important discipline in the military.

One winter, it was the World Cup season and was the day when Korea played. I went to another dormitory to help one senior for a while and watched Korea scored. At that moment, one senior called me, but I could not hear the senior, because the sound from the television was so loud. However, the senior misunderstood that I did not respond with him intentionally. Then he suddenly got angry and turned into Bruce Lee, and bit my face with his hand and kicked me with his left leg. Even though I told him that I could not hear him, the senior did not believe in me. I felt so unfair, but I still needed to obey the senior when he asked for something.

The one who had suffered unjustly for me (Application)

We believe in Jesus as our savior and Lord and we expect something good is going to happen in our lives. But there are many times when we suffer from unjust treatment rather than something good. What a miserable! Every boss I meet was tricky. It is not easy to keep my position while experiencing unjust suffering. Then I am letting my head down and sighing... thinking that should I have to resign to work at this time or not… when I was almost about to give up, I remember a person who had suffered unjustly for me.

He is the one who has not committed a sin, and who has no lies in his mouth. He was not blasphemy or politically opposed to the Roman government. He was cursed, but he did not curse; he suffered, but he did not threaten. Jesus, the God, did not make excuses for the unfair treatment of the Roman government. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

Isaiah 53: 7 “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

Who is He? He is Jesus. Jesus is the one who has suffered so unjustly for me when I always complain about my hardships. In order to save me, Jesus endures the unjust suffering and perseveres and goes up on the Calvary to perform the mission of the Cross. Jesus’ patience and calm in suffering is our model. There is no glory in calmly receiving deserved punishment, but there is glory in bearing insults silently and committing ourselves to the Father to judge and vindicate us. That is precisely what Jesus did and what we should aspire to do.

Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed”

Sometimes we want to kneel down before the hardships and difficult situations. Sometimes we want to give up our mission as a servant for the Kingdom of God. Sometimes we do not want to obey the harsh master.

But today we have to remember 1 Peter 2:19. We should be able to hear the voice of our conscience, which was renewed in the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 9:14 “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”

Conscience of God

When we become children of God, we have a conscience of God, which is an awareness of God and allegiance to him. That conscience tells us how to live before God. When we aware of God in the unjust circumstances, it reminds us of Jesus who had suffered unjustly to save us. And it reminds us that obeying a harsh supervisor is not the matter of serving the human master, but serving the divine master, God the Lord. Furthermore, the important thing is that we have been called for this. 1 Peter 2:21, “You have been called to do this”

What is your dream? (Illustration)

When I was young, I was often asked that what is your dream? What is your calling? What is your vision? Then my first thought was about jobs. I had heard many different kinds of dreams from my friends such as the president, scientist, and doctor. Nowadays, I was told that the popular occupations are such as beauty artists, Youtubers, and athletes.

Let’s think about the word, “calling.” (Picture) I used to think it as some visible jobs. Yes, we can be called to some occupations for the gospel. Yet, we should first remember that we are called from the slaves of the Satan to the slaves of the Christ. We are called to imitate Christ Jesus in family, relationship, church, and work place. In this horizon, Peter says we are called to endure grief by being conscious of God in the midst of unjust circumstances. What occupation we have is not important, but how we live as a Christian is more vital to God. What is our calling? It is to bear the sorrow by thinking of God in the midst of the hardships.

Since I realized what the calling is for my life, I could understand a little bit why God still allows unjust sufferings to me.

Make Ready (Picture)

I have been working as a custodian in the campus for about 6 months. I work in the team “Make Ready”, which means we work to clean the dormitory so that students can come and live in the dormitory. A couple of weeks ago, one of my team members called me and asked that where I clean yesterday.

We normally start to clean a kitchen, a bathroom and, a room in order. For example, when I clean the kitchen, the next day, other team members come and clean the bathroom. But one team member said that he had already cleaned the kitchen and got angry with me complaining why I cleaned the kitchen again. Then I said that I cleaned the kitchen because it was messy. Then he told me that he had never failed to clean the kitchen perfectly for three years and he got even angrier with me. He was not willing to pay attention to what I was saying. All of sudden, I was turned out an irresponsible and lazy man. The worst thing is that I might be kicked out from the team because my supervisor also figured out this situation. After few days, team members got to know that the painter team had visited the kitchen before I came to clean. This is why kitchen turned out messy again.

Why is God still allowing the sufferings to me and to us? It is because we can live in a way God called us in the place of unjust suffering. This calling is paraphrased throughout the 1 Peter.

1 Peter 2:12 “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

1 Peter 3:8-9 “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”

1 Peter 4:13 “but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”

How can we rejoice?

How can we rejoice in participation of the suffering of Christ? This is that we can see God's calling to us in the place of unjust suffering (Main idea).

But the problem is that it is not easy to accomplish the calling. Yes, this is difficult to live that calling as long as we rely on our ability and wisdom to obey the harsh leaders. When we are dependent on our something, it is hard to keep the position where we are called as a servant. But Peter is showing us how we can bear the sorrows in unjust suffering. What is that? This is to “be conscious of God” (Main idea).

When we are conscious of God, we can aware of His amazing grace. He is the one who gave me life through Jesus Christ. He is one who loved me first when we were still sinners. Then He gave us His only begotten son to save us from the bondage of the death. Peter says, Jesus “suffered for you.” More than that, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (2:24).

If I paraphrase the word, “consciousness” in Hebrew author’s way, we can say that we fix our minds on Jesus in the place of the unjust sufferings. When we fix our minds on Jesus, we can stand in the ocean of the grace. And this grace is guiding us to step on the examples Jesus has shown. Even in the midst of the difficulties, it gives us power to obey the harsh bosses. That grace does not end there. As Jesus’ obedience leads sinners to the full of life, God will use our obedience as a channel of mission. Through our obedience toward the harsh leaders, we can lead non-believers to God.

1 Peter 2: 12 “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

1 Peter 3: 15 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”

When we obey the harsh master by thinking of God in the midst of unjust suffering, they will glorify God through our obedience. This is why we should be prepared to answer the reason for the hope in Jesus Christ.

Do you have any harsh supervisors in your like? It is frustrating us. It is hard. It is depressing us. But! God does not want us to fix our minds on the unjust sufferings. Rather, God wants us to fix our minds on that the place of suffering is the place of mission (Main idea). When we live by this calling, as Peter declares. “It is commendable.” The phrase “it is commendable” literally reads “this is grace.” Grace here does not mean “unmerited favor,” but “that which counts with God” and with which he is pleased.

No one likes to suffer unjustly. Still, the Lord is pleased when we endure unjust suffering, for it is a form of imitation of Christ. God is not impressed when we endure well-deserved punishment. It is praiseworthy if we, like Jesus, quietly endure injustice.

Conclusion

1 Peter 2:25 “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”

Everyone needs Jesus the Redeemer. Slaves—and all others who feel trapped by toxic masters—need Jesus’s example. Whenever anyone in power makes life difficult, Jesus shows the way. Believers, whom God “bought at a price,” not belong to Jesus, and that is liberating. So our first thought is not to change masters or jobs but to remain faithful, whatever our bonds may be.

Today we are called to obey our leaders by being conscious of God. It means we laid own our rights in the unjust sufferings. Imagine the result - This is the way of life we follow the example of Jesus. And this life can be a channel of mission.

In this sense, we are all "workplace missionaries."

Are you in a place of unjust suffering? Think of God. Be conscious of God. Listen to a good conscience. The place of suffering will be a place of mission that is pleasing God.