When someone leaves the country of their birth and moves to a new country, they leave all that is familiar behind. They have to learn how to survive in an unfamiliar world. Often, they struggle to fit in. Their behavior signals to everyone that they “aren’t from around here.”

When the apostle Peter wrote this letter, he urged his readers to take on the perspective of spiritual “foreigners and exiles” in their daily lives (v. 11). As the young Christian community began to grow, they were out of place because their values as Christians conflicted with the values of this world. They were trying to fight sin in their lives, but the world encouraged sinful behavior. What is more, the good things they valued were hated by the world so much that they were accused of wrongdoing (v. 12)!

Peter’s exhortation is that they lean into living like people who have left the place of their birth and are living in a new home. This advice is true for us as well, living as Christ followers in a secular culture. We are to live in such a way that we do not conceal our true citizenship. People of God are to honor God by doing good, submitting to authorities, showing respect, loving other Christians, and honoring authority (vv. 12, 17). “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people” (v. 15).

Peter warns: “[D]o not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves” (v. 16). Like an accent that lingers, our behavior identifies Christians as different. This may cause suffering in our current life, but it is the kind of behavior that God promises to reward when Christ appears (v. 12).

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