1 Peter 3:8 - In Summary

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.”

This verse reminds me of Paul’s instructions for marriage in Galatians. Paul kicked off his discussion with the overarching instruction of “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21) Peter waits till the end till to give a similar thought. Let’s hit them one at a time.

- “Live in harmony…” Everyone means everyone – that means that as far as it depends on you, you should live in harmony with everyone you meet. Which means there is no room in the life of a Christian to hold grudges. Living in harmony means having “a like mind” when it comes to your faith and striving for the same goals – i.e., the glory of God and furtherance of his kingdom. A husband and wife should be on the same page, especially spiritually.

- “Be sympathetic…” We are called to live outside ourselves, or in other words, to get over ourselves. You cannot sympathize with others if you are focused continually on yourself. Peter calls us to move beyond self-interest and to care about the feelings of others. A husband and wife should look to the feelings of their spouse over their own feelings.

- “Love as brothers…” This does not mean that you should love as childhood brothers – beating and tattling on each other. Brothers and sisters are part of your life forever. They are around in tough times and in good times. If they need something, you help. If you need something, they help. You share a common history and blood relationship – as we do with other Christians. A husband and wife should love one another with the consistent love of a sibling or a close friend.

- “Be compassionate…” Sympathy calls us to feel for other people. Compassion takes it a step further and calls us to act on that sympathy. You must be in tune with other people to know when and how to act compassionately. A husband and wife should be “actively sympathetic” towards one another.

- “Be humble…” Consider others more important than yourself. I believe that we can act humble, and do humble acts, but it takes the work of the Holy Spirit to create a humble heart. It is something we can ask for. But just so you know, God doesn’t zap you and all of a sudden you are humble; He works humility in you by giving you opportunities to be humble. In my opinion, marriage is the most fertile ground for humility to grow – well, the second most fertile behind parenthood. A husband and wife should serve one another with humility.

Imagine the type of marriage you would have if you and your spouse treated one another with sympathy, love, compassion, humility, and lived together in harmony. Wouldn’t that be an awesome life! That is what God has in mind for marriage – and He gives you the ability to have that sort of marriage – and other relationships – through the power of the Holy Spirit. Seriously!