Seeking to pay someone back for wrongs he has done to you is a very human impulse. It is, however, not an impulse from the Holy Spirit. God has plainly said that vengeance is his (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19). Jesus had spoken in the same vein with his instruction to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39). The command to honor everyone
(1 Peter 2:17) means that even slaves needed to—and could—leave their helplessness at wrongs done to them with the Lord God, just as Jesus himself had done. In a world where we experience unjust overreach on the part of authorities in government or managers in business, Peter’s instruction in this paragraph is very pertinent. The helpless are not ultimately helpless, for we may count on God to judge justly and so set straight what the boss made crooked.
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.