“Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:17)
Today’s verse gives a series of short exhortations about our attitude towards different groups of people and towards God. The first exhortation makes clear that all people are worthy of “honor”. They were all created in the image of God and should be treated with respect. This does not depend on someone’s social position, religion, political affiliation,
and so on. It applies to “everyone”.
This command to “honor” is repeated for the emperor or king, which probably does not refer to him personally (since that would already be covered by the first exhortation concerning “everyone”), but to his position as a ruler. In that sense, governments should be “honored” and obeyed especially, as Peter has argued earlier in his letter.
Then there is the exhortation to “love the brotherhood”. Our relationship with fellow believers goes deeper that our relationship to “everyone”, since there is a spiritual unity. They are often called “beloved brothers and sisters”.
Finally, we should “fear God”. His position is unique. Only He is worthy of our full devotion. Only He should be our heart’s desire. We should love Him above everything else.
Do you find any of these exhortations particularly hard to take? If so, why?