If you are a parent of children old enough to talk, you have heard them complain, “But that isn’t fair!” And you responded, “Life isn’t fair!” We are born with a strong inner sense of fairness and a strong desire to fight for our rights when we have been treated unfairly. Although we know that life isn’t fair, we’re prone to fight back when we’re the victims of unfair treatment.

Let’s assume that you are a conscientious worker on your job. You get to work early, you’re careful not to extend your lunch breaks, and sometimes you stay late on your own time to finish a job. You’re careful not to waste company time with excessive chit-chat. You work hard and produce for the company. Because you’re a Christian, you don’t go out drinking after hours with the boss and you don’t swap the latest dirty jokes with him.

Another worker is, in your opinion, a goof off. He often comes in late, he spends a lot of time chatting with the secretaries, he takes long lunches, and he does sloppy work which you often have to correct. But he also goes out drinking with the boss and he always has a new dirty joke that sends the boss into hysterics. When a promotion opens up, he gets the better job and you are overlooked.

Life isn’t fair! The important question is, “How do you respond when you’re treated unfairly?” How should you respond? How should a Christian respond when treated unfairly, especially on the job?

That is the question Peter addresses. My guess is that you’re not going to like his answer. (I can guess that because I don’t like his answer either!) His answer is, When treated unfairly by a superior, we should submissively endure by entrusting ourselves to God, the righteous Judge.

Be subject … This means “submit, or obey”; and “It is the key word in this epistle, occurring 6 times in all.”

In this text Peter is talking about submission—submission to authorities in government, submission to masters, and all of this is in the context of suffering. When people look at Christians, they shouldn’t find those who are slandering their leaders or starting riots to overthrow government, even in the case of injustice, such as persecution or slavery.

Remember, in this context Nero is on the throne and Christians are being thrown to the lions and burned at the stake. It seems like an ideal time to fight back, but that is not what Peter teaches the Christians to do. He tells them to submit to the unjust authorities in leadership.

The situation for submission is one in which we are under authority. Peter was writing to slaves but much in this section applies to our work relationships. Because God is in control, we face each day with his power and love. If you receive some hard knocks today, turn them over to God. If you’ve been cheated, give the problem to God.

If employees do not fulfill their responsibilities, admit your loss and trust God fully.

Christians must never seek revenge, no matter how bad the circumstances. The impulse for revenge comes from people who think that systems or bosses or powerful people are in control.

Christians believe that God has ultimate power. Be careful. This verse does not advocate passivity or weak-willed submission to cruel people.

God’s way is for us to identify the nature of the relationship: Am I under the authority of the person who is treating me unfairly? That is the first question I must ask to determine how I should act in a given situation.

God has ordained various spheres of authority. He is the supreme authority over all, of course. But under God there is the sphere of human government (1 Pet. 2:13-17; Rom. 13:1-7). Also, there is the sphere of the family, in which husbands have authority over wives (1 Pet. 3:1-6; Eph. 5:22-24) and parents over children (Eph. 6:1-4).

There is the sphere of the church, in which elders have authority over the flock (1 Pet. 5:1-5; Heb. 13:17). And there is the sphere of employment in which employees must be subject to employers.

2. The motives for submission are to please God and bear witness to the lost.

Twice (2:19a, 20b) Peter says that submitting to unjust treatment “finds favor with God.”

Many of the readers of this letter would have known all too well what it meant to “bear up” under the pain of unjust suffering.

By being conscious of God when they suffered, they were remembering God’s care and love for them.

They focused on the fact that they were suffering injustice as Christ had suffered injustice, and they knew that one day God would right all wrongs. This gave them the proper attitude, enabled them to persevere, and kept their practice from being mere passive acceptance.

The idea is that God gives grace to the humble, not to the defiant, assertive, and self-reliant. If we defy an authority which God has placed over us, we are, in effect, defying God Himself. Thus, conscious of God, we should seek to submit to please Him, trusting Him to deal with the unjust authority.

If you’re being treated unfairly at work, you may be looking at a tremendous opportunity to bear witness for Christ by your behavior. If you yield your rights in a Christlike manner, people will notice and may wonder, “Why doesn’t he fight for his rights?” Maybe you’ll get an opportunity to tell them.

THE FACE OF SUFFERING. We may suffer for many reasons. Some suffering comes as the direct result of our own sin; some happens because of our foolishness; and some is the result of living in a fallen world.

Peter writes about suffering that comes as a result of doing good. Jesus never sinned, and yet he suffered so that we could be set free.

When we follow Christ’s example and live for others, we too may suffer. Our goal should be to face suffering as he did—with patience, calmness, and confidence, knowing that God controls the future.

3. The pattern for submission is Jesus Christ. Christ left an example for us to follow in His steps (2:21).

When we patiently suffer injustice, we are following our supreme example in Christ. He suffered great injustice in order to obtain our salvation:

• He endured the unbelief of his own people (John 1:11).

• He endured a trial by religious leaders already committed to his death (Mark 14:1; John 11:50).

• He endured the lies of false witnesses (Matthew 26:59–60).

• He endured beating and mockery from his people and from the Roman soldiers (Mark 14:64–65; 15:16–20).

• He endured merciless flogging (Mark 15:15).

• He endured an excruciatingly painful death by crucifixion (Mark 15:22–37).

• He endured the insults of bystanders as he suffered on the cross (Mark 15:29–32).

• He endured a time of separation from God (Mark 15:33–34).

Peter set up Christ as the model for the believers to follow.

They should face injustice from harsh masters or from other authorities with supreme dignity, trusting God’s control.

The word example is literally, “underwriting.” It was a school word. Teachers would lightly trace the letters of the alphabet so that students could write over them to learn how to write.

Or, as in our day, teachers would put examples of the alphabet up in the room for students to look at to copy as they formed their letters. Christ is that kind of example for us. If we follow how He lived, we will form our lives correctly.

Following “in His steps” pictures a child who steps in his father’s footprints in the snow. Where the father goes, the child goes, because he puts his feet in those same footprints. Peter says that we are called to the same purpose as Christ was (2:21).

If our Master’s footprints led to the cross where He suffered unjustly, so we can expect to die to self and suffer unjustly. If we respond as He did, people will see our Savior in us.

Many people will never read the Bible, but they do read our lives. They should see Christlikeness there, not a defiant spirit of self-will that characterizes those who are living for themselves and the things of this world.

4. The principle of submission involves not retaliating when we are wronged. 2:22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

Peter quoted from Isaiah 53:9, Isaiah’s prophecy about the suffering of the coming Messiah. Christ’s suffering was completely unjust because he never committed any sin or spoke any lies; there was no good reason for his being condemned to death.

Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (nkjv).

Jesus did not return abuse nor did he threaten. How tempting it must have been to expose the liars at his trial, to come down from the cross in a great display of power, or to blast his enemies with God’s wrath.

Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. Jesus suffered patiently because he knew that God would have the final say. Jesus regarded God as sovereign, so he put the outcome of his life in God’s hands. He was confident of God’s righteous judgment.

As Jesus entrusted (the verb is imperfect, he “kept entrusting”) himself and his sufferings to God, so all believers can entrust themselves and their suffering into God’s hands.

Knowing that God will ultimately right all wrongs is a great comfort to believers who are suffering, and it helps them respond correctly in their sufferings.

Don’t minimize or deny a person’s cruel behavior, for that will only encourage the person to continue to be abusive and discourage him or her from getting help.

You may need to confront the problem in order to protect innocent family members from danger. Don’t rationalize or excuse abuse. Seek help from the professionals God has given us. Those who don’t stop the cycle of abuse may live to see those victims become abusers themselves.

When Jesus was wronged, He did not retaliate in kind. He could have called legions of angels to strike down His enemies. He could have selfishly stood up for His rights (after all, He is Lord of the universe!). But He didn’t. He always acted selflessly, even when He did confront His accusers. While we’ll never be as unselfish as Jesus, it is a goal we should strive for.

There are four things mentioned which we need to keep in mind when we are treated unfairly.

First, Jesus did not commit sin. He always acted in obedience to the Father, never in self-will.

Second, there was never any deceit in His mouth. He didn’t bend the facts to win the argument or get His own way. When He defended Himself, He was always truthful.

Third, when He was reviled, He didn’t revile in return. He didn’t trade insults.

Fourth, He uttered no threats. He didn’t say, “Just you wait! I’ll get even with you!” In other words, Jesus didn’t respond to verbal abuse with more verbal abuse. Neither should we.

5. The means of submission is to entrust ourselves to the Righteous Judge.

Jesus made it through the cross by continually entrusting Himself to the Father who judges righteously. He knew that He would be vindicated by being raised from the dead and enthroned at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

He knew that His persecutors would be judged and dealt with according to their sins. So He “delivered Himself up” (the literal translation of “entrusted”) to God.

Jesus entrusted Himself to the Father, knowing that even though the way led to the cross, it also led through the cross to the glory beyond.

Even so, we can entrust ourselves to God. The way will lead to the cross; but also, it will lead through the cross to the glory that awaits us in heaven.

God is the righteous Judge who will someday right every wrong and bring vengeance on those who resist His authority. Our task is to trust Him by submitting to human authority, even when we are treated unfairly.