Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become FILLED with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.

-Parallel verses:
I Peter‬ ‭2:10-12‬‬‬
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

We live in a pagan world.    Pagans live for themselves primarily.  In general, they operate in a “life slant” of justifying self and seeking the credit or the glory for themselves.  Christians (followers of Jesus Christ) are different.  Our true purpose and goal is to bring glory to God and give Him credit for the good things in life.  God and Jesus are THE SOURCE of all that is good!  Jesus said in John‬ ‭15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  So we know that we must dwell with God in life if we are to accomplish his good work and bring him glory.

‭‭‬I think of some of the great accomplishments over time we hear about; and how people share about the people that motivated them or compelled them to take the risks and acheive greatness.  They give them glory or credit.  In a much bigger way this is what we are called to do in relationship with God.

As we look at this passage, it is describing a very dark place in society: envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice.  People are haters of God and all that is good.  They slander each other and are full of themselves and give credit to their own self. Parents are not considered wise, and they invent ways of doing evil.  This has come to light recently with the sexual identity crisis and the sex-change onslaught we are seeing in our society.  This is an evil invention.  In some cases, the cutting of of children’s genitals in the name of tolerance.  The Devil is deceiving parents and kids in this matter.  Those who are not considered mature enough to drive or to consume alcohol responsibly are somehow mature enough by themselves to alter their reproductive organs and claim the opposite sex.  There have been reports that parents are not being consulted prior to these surgeries in some states in the US.  And this is all based on a child’s feelings at one stage in their development.  How horrible!  It is nothing short of an evil manipulation of children and people in general.  The good news is, as Peter describes in the above passage, we who follow Jesus were called out of this sinful, downward spiral-of-a-life and into a new life, a new identity in Jesus Christ.  We now can be, through God’s power, people of mercy, love, understanding, and fidelity (or trustworthiness).  We are now living as foreigners in our own world, and we are called to live overwhelmingly good lives.  These lives are lived through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside us.  And our lives will stand as a beacon of truth and light in a dark world.  Though the world tries to disparage us, the very people who do this will, in the end, eat their words and give glory to God for the testimony and faithfulness of our lives.

Thank you Father for calling out evil.  Jesus, your Son, did this on earth.  And you also call us to stand against it as your adopted children.  But you call us to something much bigger that pointing out and standing against evil.  You call us to your goodness!  You compel us to be SACRIFICIALLY GOOD!  May it be said of me!