Sometimes in our lives we have great pain and deep sorrow. Life is hard. It is hard by the yard and it is no cinch by the inch. Suffering is not an option in the school of life. Last Friday night, Larry King assembled a panel of preachers and New Age proponents to discuss the nature of good and evil. It was an interesting discussion. But when you are down in the trenches, doubled over with some pain that won't go away, you are not very interested in a discussion. What you would like is some relief. And if not relief then at least some tips for survival.

Here in the heart of I Peter, that is what we have, a way to endure the sufferings of life. This is not an essay on social justice. It is a letter to powerless Christians in an oppressive culture, to slaves whose masters are not very respe…