In 1 Peter 2:16, Peter tells us, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”
I am challenged by this verse. We’ve been made free by Christ’s death and resurrection. That’s a tremendous gift we’ve been given. Yet, if we truly recognize that the finished work of Calvary has made us holy and righteous before God, then it can take only a subtle shift to begin to have an attitude of, “I can do whatever I want because my ticket for heaven is assured.”
Of course, most of us would never blatantly admit to such an attitude. Yet, we’ve all heard stories—or, perhaps, known—Christians, even Christian leaders, who have dark and secret sins. They have used their freedom as a cover-up for evil. It is, I fear, a not uncommon occurrence.
But such aberrations are not the only type of sin. Others of us can struggle with pride—wanting people to see how gifted or wealthy or kind or fun or good looking or caring or _______(you fill in the blank) we are. And we can just as easily use our freedom in Christ to cover that up, too.
It’s in this context that Peter goes on to tell us that we should be living as servants of God. That’s a major part of the antidote. When we see ourselves as servants—not living for ourselves but for God’s glory—it changes our perspective of how we live. We become less focused on ourselves and more focused on the Lord.
