For the one determined to love life and to see good days, let him stop his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile.
Truth to Learn
The way we speak and the things we say will have an effect on the way we live.
Behind the Words
The word translated “determined” (“wants” or “wills” in some translations) is the Greek verb thelÅ, which means “to desire, implying active volition and purpose.” In other words, it means “to determine.” There is another word translated “will” or “want” in the New Testament. It is the Greek verb boulomai, which means “to want” or “to desire.” Whereas boulomai means “to be disposed or to intend, but not pressing on to execute that decision,” thelo implies a determination that produces action. It is a subtle, but important, distinction especially in today’s verse.
“Stop” is translated from the Greek word pausato, which means “to stop” or “to bring to an end.” The implication is that something is already happening and we need to stop doing it.
The word translated “guile” is dolon, which means “trickery or deceit.”
Meaning Explained
In the previous verse Peter admonished us not to retaliate when people do or say bad things against us. Instead, we are to respond with “good words.” As we have discussed before, we Christians will suffer persecution on this earth. This world is not our home and we are not of this place. Our home is in the heavenlies and we are but strangers and wanderers on this earth. As such we will be treated as aliens by those who are of this world. If we have a witness that we are Christians, then the inhabitants of this world will do evil to us and they will insult us. It’s their nature.
As Christians, however, we must be ever mindful that we are the children of the King and we are His ambassadors. Since we represent Him, people should see Him in us, particularly in our actions. Not only is He the great King but He is Almighty God who is in control of all things. He knows what will make us truly happy, and in these verses Peter tells us how to be that way.
Peter is not saying that if you desire to love life, then do the following. He is saying that if you have determined to love life, then do the following. It is not a wishy-washy hope that you might love life, rather a determination that you will love life and see good days. Isn’t this what we all want (desire)? If so, then let us decide (determine) to do what it takes to have it.
Peter says, if you want to love life and see good days, you must stop using your tongue for evil and your lips from speaking guile. That is, we need to stop speaking worthless or injurious things and stop trying to trick or deceive people with our words.
Application
If you remember what we learned in our study of James, you will recognize how difficult it is to control the tongue, so what Peter is telling us, though it sounds easy, really isn’t. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying! Let your language reflect your spiritual position (in Christ) not your physical surroundings.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved