The Other Side of Insult

Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:9)

What is evil? Is evil just one thing, or can it be many? What does it look or sound like? Is it something that we are, or something that we do? Tough questions for an article for Catholic moms. This just came up within my family, and I wanted to share my experience with other moms trying to support and teach their families in a very divisive world. I don't even think it matters which side we are on, only to recognize that there are sides. 

Returning Insult for Insult

It seems to be human nature that we want to take a side and make sure that our side “wins.” I have been trying to explain that to my family when I hear them recounting the insults they hear in the media. While they are talking, I hear them returning more insults about the person who was saying something insulting in the first place. Even though the person they are talking about is not in the room with us, we have been made to believe it is OK to insult them. I believe it still hurts, especially our own selves, since we are repeating the hateful language we hear. 

The irony is when I was sharing this with my kids and husband, we only started yelling at each other. Even I was getting mad and calling out insults to my loved ones because they were not listening to how their insults were hurting others. How very ironic. 

On the Contrary

That was when I started listening, and the Scripture verse from 1 Peter popped up. It literally showed up in my inbox. I wondered if the people choosing my daily Bible verse were watching the news the same as my family was. At the very least, God knew I needed to hear that and ultimately share it with my family. And to put it to good measure, a few days after I saw the following verse:

Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

To This You Were Called

At this point I relaxed and saw how God was calling me to be with my family. God is asking us to replace evil and insult with good and blessings. It is difficult to change our environment and what we are hearing, but we can choose not to be conquered by evil and to return blessings on those who are insulting.

God’s call to us is not to yell at our families to stop yelling, but to actually stop yelling ourselves. He calls us to not say insulting words, even if the person is not in the room. Also, we can stop tuning in to hurtful headlines and find good stories to listen to or read. If there is important news we need to know, God will make sure we hear it. All we need to do is trust. 

As I am writing this, it certainly sounds easier to say than to do. It will take a lot of thought, effort and God’s grace to get us going in this new direction. And when we do, we moms will be teaching our families a new way of doing things, a blessing they can then share with the world. 

Pray with Me

Thank you, Lord, for your instructions in a world full of evil and insult. A blessing as an inheritance is much better than any other gift we can give our families.