NOTES for Pe1 2:23

Peter advises his brothers in faith to make a favorable impression on the pagans through good deeds, so as to enjoy a good reputation in their eyes. But why is this necessary if the pagans remain pagans and their moral notions are distorted in any case? Can they, steeped in sin, really appreciate the sinless lives of Christians?

Such reasoning, perhaps not always expressed so directly, can still be encountered today. Unfortunately, some Christians understand election to salvation as a pretext for Pharisaic snobbery and for exalting themselves above those around them. But Peter looks upon those around him with optimism and does not caricature them. He clearly sees that even in the souls of pagans there lives an understanding of true values that eludes them. Today, when many Christians are accustomed to mocking the notion of “universal human values” as opposed to Christian ones, it is worth remembering that genuinely universal human values—without quotation marks!—cannot be incompatible with Christian values. They are the values that give life to every soul created by God, even one that has fallen away from Him.

For this very reason, state laws and standards of social conduct must be observed, even if they come from pagans or from people far removed from any faith, provided that these laws and rules were established for the good.

Many are troubled by the apostle’s call to obey masters who are not only good and gentle, but also harsh. Is this an appeal to submit to evil? By no means. If a master has a difficult character, this does not necessarily mean that his instructions to his workers are intended to cause harm. What we have here is not an appeal to indulge evil, but a statement of reality: life is difficult, and the people around us are rarely perfect. We must therefore arm ourselves with fortitude and patience in order to make our way through life with dignity.