I’m loving life when my football team is winning while I’m eating nachos on the couch. Or, I’m loving life when I’m hiking in the woods. Or, I’m loving life when I fall in bed after a long hard day.

Peter shares a different perspective on loving life: Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.

My vision for loving life involve enjoying things I like. Peter’s points me towards how I speak about and with others.

One way to love life more is to keep my mouth shut. To hold strong and not lash back in anger, to refuse to fire off a snarky retort on social media, to listen longer.

Another way to see good days revolves around honesty. As I speak, I should do so with sympathy, compassion and humility. When I bless those around me, they are more likely to listen to my honest thoughts even when they run contrary to their view.

Of course, in my natural state I’m incapable of such kindness. I need the power of the Holy Spirit to get anywhere close to this way of interacting. It takes God to control the tongue, and I must constantly lean on him to do so.

1 Peter 3 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Natasha Bhogal