1 Peter 4:14-16 — If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Something happened today that (eventually) brought this scripture to mind.
I was asked for something I didn’t have. I didn’t have it — because it didn’t exist! The person that asked me for it accused me of not wanting to share. I’m ashamed to say that I lost my temper.
Controlling my temper used to be a daily challenge for me. Over the years, with God’s help, it’s become much less of a challenge. Every now and then though, there’s a rush of blood and I’m reminded that, as God warned Cain, “sin lies at the door”. That’s not my main point though …
Now I can’t claim that what happened to me was because I’m a Christian. Nor was it much in the way of “suffering”! But I didn’t “deserve” what was said. But Peter is talking about something else — something that really matters.
We live in an unjust world. All of us are going to get blamed for things, but what does Peter say? The great Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary puts it like this — “let him not be ashamed—though the world is ashamed of shame. To suffer for one’s own faults is no honor,—for Christ, is no shame.”
So far, the advice is sound — if you’re falsely accused, don’t be angry, and don’t be ashamed. If you are made to suffer because you are a Christian, don’t be ashamed … But Peter goes further. He says “glorify God in this behalf”. What does he mean? He’s talking about reaction, the part of the action we can control. “Let your reaction cause God to be glorified in these circumstances”.
Peter has returned to a theme he has spoken if earlier in his letter, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:11-12). His point is that we are being watched all the time — and our good actions, or reactions, cause even unbelievers to give glory to God.
I missed an opportunity to glorify God today. My bad! But maybe you can do better …