1 Peter 2:20 (LSB)

Passage

For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this finds favor with God.

Nearby Context

1 Peter 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are crooked.

1 Peter 2:19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unrighteously.

1 Peter 2:20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this finds favor with God.

1 Peter 2:21 For to this you have been called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps,

1 Peter 2:22 who did no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "credit", "harshly", "treated", "endure", "good", "suffer", and "finds". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "credit" and "harshly", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "For this finds favor if for the..." into verse 21's "For to this you have been called...", so "credit" and "harshly" belong inside that flow. In 1 Peter context, the local focus is hope in suffering, holy conduct, submission, and grace.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "credit" and "harshly" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.