1 Peter 2:1-3

1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Today was a reading day for me, and I continued with the book I have talked about in my commentary of the two previous passages: Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, which is a book I recommend. Compared with some of the stuff I had to read in my last semester for Contemporary Approaches to Theology, it is like going from a diet of burnt toast to strawberries. Covering chapters seven and eight today, I read of John Chrysostom’s teachings on the providence of God, a needed discourse on that subject since many teachings in western culture are in the shadow of the popular Augustine on the subject. Dr. Hall even notes the variance: “The problem, as Chrysostom presents matters, is that human disposition and choice are corrupted by sin. Chrysostom, however, like most Eastern fathers, does not see this corruption as completely debilitating human freedom. He is convinced, in a manner that would perhaps cause problems for a Latin father such as Augustine, that human choice remains free” (1).

   I bring this book up again, because after the reading today, which included discussion on the suffering, I considered how malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander always have the same consequences: hurt. People who chose to engage in any or many of these practices hurt themselves and often other people every time. Such actions have been done within church communities, which I have experienced such in a church, and I have been hurt by such. And such actions have been done in places of work, families, schools, sports teams, and countless other social contexts. The result is always the same: people get hurt. Yet it continues.

   A longtime hero for me is Abraham Lincoln. Why? Because even though he had flaws, Lincoln remained steadfast over a period of many years in the face of fierce opposition that slavery is wrong. He acted accordingly and never wavered in that conviction. That is why he is a hero for me. I bring Lincoln up here for one reason. In a world that is full of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander, Lincoln’s plea not to have malice rings in my heart as I read this passage from I Peter.

   Having the privilege to sit in the pew Lincoln worshiped in at New York Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. was the pinnacle of a personal tour of that church in the summer of 2009. Despite his attendance at that church, and despite the fact that his speeches made a number of references to God, a debate has continued all of these years about whether Lincoln was a Christian. This started soon after his death when it was stated in some books that he was not a Christian.

   I personally was blessed to enter into the consideration of the faith of Abraham Lincoln upon reading a book in the fall of 2005, More Than Conquerors; Portraits of Believers from All Walks of Life (2). The author of Lincoln’s piece, Willard Davis, presented the Christian testimony of Lincoln, however, he gave no sources! I wanted to know where in the world he got his information regarding the testimony! Then on President’s Day, in February of 2009, I was was given a gift: a lecture. A lecture may not sound like a exciting gift from the top, but the lecturer was Dr. Ronald Rietveld, who had been a longtime professor at California State Fullerton. And his talk was on the faith of Abraham Lincoln. His thesis was the statement that faith is something which may not be in full bloom from the beginning, and he exposed a Lincoln who went through a long maturing process to the point where he “consecrated” his life to Christ in the wake of the battle of Gettysburg, before penning his Gettysburg address. The quote of Abraham Lincoln consecrating his life to Christ given by Dr. Rietveld was similar to the quote that was in the book with no citation.  This led me into a search for the source of the quote, which resulted in finding one source of the quote, which was a sermon published in the Freeport Weekly Journal on December 7, 1864.  You can read more about this if you are interested at
http://thefaithofAbrahamLincoln.blogspot.com
   {Also, I will post the excerpt containing the testimony of Abraham Lincoln in a blog post immediately following this one for anyone who is interested.}

   And to close with our starting subject, I give the phrase from the last paragraph of Lincoln’s second inaugural address, which has been a phrase that has blessed Americans for generations. “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in…” (3).

   I am grateful to God for my conviction of how bad racism is even in this day and age, and my willingness is to speak and act against such as I would speak and act against slavery if it were an American institution today. Likewise I am committed to proclaiming the teachings of Jesus regarding other sins that are rampant in our culture today. And both John Chrysostom and Abraham Lincoln spoke of God who does punish for wrong doings, and we Christians should be committed to explaining the consequences of turning away from Jesus and His will, telling the truth in love. Yet what is not healthy is any malice against anyone. There continues to be a need of personal forgiveness of individuals, just as we have been forgiven by Christ. As someone who use to have an anger problem, I have been influenced to be rid of malice a number of times thanks to Abraham Lincoln, and we all should be influenced by the apostle Peter who is preaching God’s word, instructing us all not engage in malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, or slander. The Holy Spirit can enable. Carrying out such sins always results in people get hurt. God does not want anyone getting hurt.
Hunter Irvine

(1) Christopher Hall, Learning Theology with the Church Fathers
(Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2002) 163.

(2) John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors; Portraits of Believers from All Walks of Life
(Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), 14-21.

(3) Stanley Appelbaum, ed., Great Speeches : Abraham Lincoln
(New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991), 107-108.