Summer Fruit Devotion: Goodness Day 2

Good Conscience

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit…” 1 Peter 3:8-18

There’s a lot of action words in these verses but let’s focus on the attitude of a “good conscience.” While the conscience is not the Holy Spirit, it is our inner self that distinguishes right from wrong, good from evil. Every day we make choices based on what we think is good. We make the best choices when we let our conscience be informed by the Spirit and the Word of God. When we do what we know is wrong our conscience makes us feel bad but when we do good it makes us feel good. How do we feel when we suffer for doing good? We feel good in our conscience but we also feel the injustice of it. How can we become ok with suffering for doing good? How can we be ok with getting ripped off and back-stabbed and used? We look to Christ, who suffered the ultimate evil injustice and was murdered for doing only good all the time. You have freedom in Christ to do good and not worry about judging others when you suffer for it because God is the one who vindicates you. Even if you are slandered for the sake of Christ no one can take away your freedom in Christ and your good conscience.

Journal time. Peter quotes a portion of Psalm 34 in this passage. Look up and read Psalm 34 and journal the things that encourage you.

Pray with me today. Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that your righteous son, Jesus, willingly suffered for all of us unrighteous. We truly desire to love life and see good days. Help us to turn from evil and do good. You’ve called us to bless and not repay evil with evil. We need your supernatural Holy Spirit to obey a calling so contrary to our selfish natures. And if we must suffer for doing good help us to suffer well with a good conscience, just like Jesus did. When we suffer for righteousness sake help us to have no fear, to honor Christ and defend your goodness, with gentleness and respect, which is the reason for the hope in us. In the living and righteous name of Jesus we pray, Amen.