(The following is the November 10 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read 1 Peter 3 and pay close attention to verses 8-12.)

Peter lists several behaviors for believers to follow, contrasting good behavior with evil. We can categorize them into three sections – what we should do, what we should not do, and why.

• What should believers do?
  • Be like-minded.
  • Be sympathetic.
  • Love one another.
  • Be compassionate.
  • Be humble.
  • Bless others.
  • Keep our tongues from evil.
  • Keep our lips from speaking deceit.
  • Turn away from evil.
  • Do what is good.
  • Seek peace and pursue it.

• What should believers not do?
  • Do not pay back evil for evil.
  • Do not pay back insult for insult.

• Why?
  • We are called to bless others so that we might inherit a blessing.
  • We want to love life and see good days.
  • The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.
  • The face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

Sometimes we make Christian living more complicated than it needs to be. Lists like the one above remind us that much of our behavior comes down to doing what is good and turning away from evil as instructed by God’s Word and the Holy Spirit indwelling us.

Next Step:
Do you need to work on any items in the above lists of what to do and not do? What additional reasons can you add to the “Why?” section?