"For it is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish people." (1 Peter 2:15)

"For it is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish people."  (1 Peter 2:15)

The world is constantly scrutinizing every action of the believer in order to have some ground to criticize.  There is the suppressed rage that the Christian carries himself loftily as if superior to other men.  They will be delighted to pull him down a notch or two.

"Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect," Jesus stipulates.  In the Gospels and other parts of the New Testament, we see similar counsel to be irreproachable in behavior. I tend to cringe when I come across these prescriptions of behavioral standard for Christians.   I cringe because I fear that I may not be able to live up to the high standard.  And the idea of constant scrutiny of your every move is discomforting to me.

What shall we do in order to live this word of God with joy and peace?  The answer is to trust the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is in us to help us to live the Christian life.  If we practise every day acts of surrender to Him, He will lead, guide, teach and use us.