By the Way: Let’s not give them more reasons
By Roland Weisbrot on November 26, 2022.
In Luke 21, Jesus gives what is perhaps His most exhaustive account of what those who believe should expect going forward. One particularly poignant comment made by Jesus in verse seventeen is as follows: “Everyone will hate you because of me” (NIV). Now this sounds unpleasant because it is; however, it should come as no surprise that the followers of a man so hated that He was crucified by the Romans and His own people, would also be hated. Some Christians have worn the contempt of the world as a sort of “badge of honour” which “proves” that they are “following” Christ. I can certainly see the point in this, but we as believers must also be very careful and discerning to recognize when people are angry at us because we are being faithful to God or if they are angry at us because we are being genuinely bad people. In the latter case, we must apologize rather than walk away imagining ourselves to be “righteous.” To put it plainly, we should never give the world more reasons to hate believers, which means we must be prudent in the way we interact with people. Christ was and is a polarizing figure because He spoke the truth; naturally, those who continue to bear witness to that truth will also have a polarizing effect. Since becoming a pastor myself, I have noticed that when the topic of what I do for work comes up in conversation there are always only two responses, one of joy or one of contempt-very rarely is someone truly indifferent about it. Now we cannot control what other people choose to think of us Christians, nor should we desire such control, but what we can do is bear witness to Christ in, by, and through love. In doing so, we will neutralize the claims of those hostile to us and, insofar as possible, prevent the heaping of more hatred upon ourselves. Pastor Roland Weisbrot is the Lead Pastor at Victory Lutheran Church 9-8
