“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)
Loud and proud or short and sweet or under the radar? How do I “Christian?” It might take a step back to see how you come off, both in the Lord’s eyes and in those of non-Christians.
Maybe it’s just me, but the majority of my friends would not consider themselves to be Christians. And that’s how it’s been most of my life. I’m a public school, arts college product that express-shipped to New York. Sometimes, I envy those Bible-belted seminary kids who only ever had a sandwich on Daily Bread. It’s easier to have Christian friends when your entire dorm flocks to church on Sunday mornings instead of hangover brunch spots.
Of course, it’s important to be a part of Christian community and fellowship. But early Christians didn’t live in the confines of Bible camp. It was (and is) impossible. In 1 Peter, Peter addresses “God’s elect, strangers in the world,” who have been “scattered.” And isn’t that the way Christians should be? The image of seeds being scattered around land that will eventually turn into fields is such a beautiful picture of the way tiny little nothings can turn into something of bounty. And as awesome as this is, it is still a bit unnerving to be scattered. It takes a while to find solid ground and grow roots. Even when you do, the other plants around you might be confused because you act differently than the others in your surroundings.
Peter knows that people will do a double take when they see that these “strangers in the world” are eager to do good, suffering for what is right, and fearless of the things that others fear. Similarly, if we are really walking the walk, our lives will look so drastically different that others will have to know why we are so dang hopeful. We’re hopeful because we “love life and see good days.” We “seek peace and pursue it.” We “live in harmony with one another,” following the command to “be sympathetic, love as brothers (and sisters!), be compassionate and humble.”
And let’s just give a shout out to Peter for calling us out before he even saw us using Christianity as a bragging right or status symbol or hoity toity cool club that other people just don’t get.
“Mmmmmkay. Don’t shove it in people’s faces and give Christianity a bad image. Check.”
But this is time to check myself. I don’t struggle much with that. I generally shy away from shoving anything in anyone’s face. My personality leans toward that of the Peacemaker. I just want everyone to get along. As a three-year-old nugget, I would even interrupt irritated conversations between my six-year-old brother and parents by saying, “EVERYBODY BE HAPPY!” And sometimes, in the world where disappearing is a defense mechanism, camouflaging my Christianity seems like a great solution. Just blend in and everyone will get along swimmingly, right? But let’s take another look. Good old Pete doesn’t say to hide our identities in Christ! He tells us to give our reason for hope with gentleness and respect.
Gentleness: the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered
Respect: due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others
This is coming from the guy who cut off a soldier’s ear, then denied Jesus three times in the courtyard. He had seen Jesus’ disappointment when he repaid others’ hatred with violence. He knew the shame that came after he answered accusations with the disownment of his best friend (who was also his Savior.) And he knew that that wasn’t the way Jesus would have dealt with either of those situations. When people arrested and tortured Jesus, He asked God to forgive them. And if you need to know Jesus’ answers to why His life looked a lot different than the norm, just look around for the red letters in your Bible. Jesus didn’t have to explain Himself. He could have turned water into wine and called it a day. But instead, He chose to spend years explaining (to sometimes deaf ears and dizzy disciples) just how much God SO loved the world.
So the next time someone asks you why you have out-of-this-world hope, or maybe even makes fun of you for being a little off, use gentleness and respect as ingredients as you cook up your response. Different situations call for different measurements. But your conscience will be clear, and Peter will be proud, if you use those ingredients wisely.