1 Peter 2:9 English Standard Version (ESV)  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:9 King James Version (KJV) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

1 Peter 2:9 New American Standard Bible (NASB) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Understand the nature of mankind and how sensitive they can be over the slightest perceived offence. The variety of words used to identify people with the words race, generation and people is a variable where certain people will fix their focus and find offence. It is needless but it happens. We cannot deny how people react.

Use the word race and there will be a group who immediately think racism. It isn’t right but that is a common reaction today for some people.

For some generation implies a limited range which by their own definition is ill defined. It might be a hundred years, or seventy-five years, or even less depending on the individuals understanding. We cannot control how people feel about certain words.

Chosen and called are words used in each of the examples and there is a select group of individuals who take offense justly because they in fact have not been chosen, nor called. Rarely will we hear them cry about their plight. They often revel in their sin and glorify sin.

That is nothing new. It has happened before.

1 Peter 5:8-9 English Standard Version

⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Are things all that much different today than when this warning was written? While the situations may be very different today, the primal nature of man has not varied at all. Our myopic vision of life tends to think that our present circumstances are somehow immune to the dangers of the past. If we think that way then the cure to the ills of the past might also be seen as ineffective.

Breaking down everything that is happening in the world right now to the basic principle of the fall of man from grace, then the cure to all our ills is still the same. Listen to the multitude of phone calls we get every day and hear those offering a fix to our problems. The truth of those offers is based on human nature. Our fears are preyed upon every day. We begin to think that our lives must be falling apart if we have this many people trying to fix our problems.

If they are not tapping into our fears they are tugging at our humanity. Apparently all the ills of the whole world can be fixed if we donate only $19 a month. For only 64 cents a day, you can save whatever they are supporting at the moment. Isn’t it strange how they all came up with the same dollar amount?

Peter’s warning to be sober-minded and watchful still applies. Staying firm in our faith is still the best solution for all our fears and cares.