1 Peter 3:9

‘Not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but rather to the contrary, blessing; for to this you were called, that you should inherit a blessing.'

We are not to combat evil with evil, nor to revile those who revile us (compare 1 Peter 2:22), but are rather to respond to evil with good, and to reviling with blessing (speaking well of and hoping for the best for them), and this even in circumstances where the response will simply be further evil and reviling. We are not to sink to the level of our adversaries, but are to demonstrate the love of Christ in all our words and behaviour, expecting nothing in return. For this is what we have been called to be, those who follow in His steps and are like Him in all that we say and do.

And by doing this we will ‘inherit a blessing', both now because of the joy, openness and peace that it will bring in our lives as we are at peace with God and with each other, with God speaking well of us, and in the future when we receive our inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away which is reserved for us in Heaven (1 Peter 1:4).