1 Peter 3:9 “not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”
The Bible gives us very good tips on how to live a life with the least amount of problems and worries. One of the most challenging things in life is communication with others. It is easy to do good to others that do good to you because we tend to subconsciously copy others’ behaviour. What happens when someone does an upsetting thing that hurts you? This verse in 1 Pet 3:9 tells us to not render evil for evil but to be a blessing for all. This is a very difficult thing to do, considering that when people tend to do evil things to us, we want to show them our disappointment or anger by letting them have “a taste of their own medicine”. But the scriptures do not support that. Why? This practical life tip isn't written to make our life harder, but on the contrary, it makes it easier. Even psychological studies confirm that if someone was to give evil for evil, then that emotion doubles and encourages the evil behaviour even more, and it's true for the opposite - if someone is being good and kind and another person does the same, that goodness or blessing will double. However, doing good for evil will weaken the evil intentions and the negative energy that person has. Whether it makes that person embarrassed that they tried to hurt a person that only shows them good, or the lack of reaction towards the evil action, this advice to do good for evil will weaken that action and not encourage it. Through our behaviour, we show the path which our life is on. So if we do evil, we are following the path of Satan. If we do good, then we are following Jesus.
This verse shows us that this practical advice works and is written for our own good, even though it is hard to do and perfect. In the Bible, there are many examples that prove that this is the best way to deal with evil and bad behaviour, as it won't damage your good character.
In Matt 12:1-15 , it describes Jesus teaching the Pharisees that if a man is in need on the Sabbath, they should take care of him, and Jesus’ reaction to the Pharisees' criticism. They began to plot against Him, but in verse 15 it says “And Jesus perceiving it withdrew from thence: and many followed him; and he healed them all,”. This shows that Jesus did not react to their actions, but chose to be peaceful as He knew engaging in argument would make matters worse and not benefit either side, therefore did not give evil for evil.
1 Pet 2:18,20 says to have respect and caution to your “master”, whether they are good or unreasonable. This underlines the idea that despite if someone is bad or unreasonable, we still must be respectful to them, but it is reasonable to have caution towards them to protect ourselves.
John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Everyone has a group of people they call their friends, whether it is big or small. These are the people that we spend the most time with, therefore it's most likely we might encounter bad things aimed towards us. If we have the mentality that we would do anything for our friends Iike is written in this verse, then one would feel more inclined to give good in return for any bad actions against us, because they are our friends.