1 Peter 3:1-7 NIV
[1] Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, [2] when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. [3] Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. [4] Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. [5] For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, [6] like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. [7] Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Dear God, oh boy! Now we get to deal with Peter the misogynist. I’m being sarcastic, but that is the first thing some people will see when they read these passages. It’s hard to remember context when you read stuff that was written 2,000 years ago. Heck, it’s hard to remember context for things written five years ago. A lot changes over time, and a lot has changed over the last few years.

I was watching some old Saturday Night Live sketches a few months ago, and when I say old I mean that they were from about eight years ago. The jokes they were making about men and women, sexual harassment, etc. would not be aired today—not even by SNL (South Park, maybe). They would be deemed inappropriate.

Then you go back 40 years. I’ll watch movies like “Smokey and the Bandit” and “Convoy” and consider how they treat law enforcement with such irreverence. I wonder if those movies, especially “Smokey and the Bandit” would be made in the same way today. How much of the script would be changed?

Of course, you can go back 150 years to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and consider the language Mark Twain used to refer to black people. Of course, his publisher would never allow that now. Published for the first time in 2019, the book would have to be severely edited.

On the one hand, it is good that all of these things have morphed over time. We are growing as a society and as humans. We are recognizing the prejudices that have been baked into us as we grew. On the other hand, I think all of these pieces of art and recordings of our history help us to see where we used to be and how far we have come. One of the things I love about the #metoo movement is that Hollywood has taken its eyes off of judging a lot of society for things of which it disapproves and they have turned it back on themselves. We are all growing.

So I say all of that, probably unnecessarily, to point out that this is Peter (and Paul did it too) moving the ball forward. This is Peter telling women that they have power and influence that is beyond their sexuality. He might not have totally gotten it and been “lit” on this issue, but he was certainly pushing the boundaries of a cultural norm of the time. And then he turned it on the husbands. He tells them that their treatment of their wife will impact their relationship with you (“…so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”). No, Peter is not “lit,” but anyone judging him for that probably doesn’t realize how “unlit” they themselves are.

Father, give me a mind that is open enough for the Holy Spirit to give me your thoughts. Be glorified in my words and my actions. Help me to see your truth beyond the millennia of lies that have been baked into my training. And help me to be the man my wife needs me to be. No, better said, help me to be the man that you need me to be for my wife. And help her to be what you need for me. Teach me through her and teach her through me. Do this all so that you might use us in your world for your maximum glory and the benefit of others.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen