“If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all this they will do to you on My account, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”
John 15: 18-21
Over the course of my lifetime (I’m 52 at present), the attitude of society towards Christians has changed. When I was a child, Sunday mornings were sacred. Not only did my family worship every Sunday, but we also weren’t pressured to do other things on Sunday morning. Our sports teams didn’t play on Sundays. Those days were reserved for worship and family. Slowly, activities began being scheduled on Sunday afternoons. We still could worship on Sunday mornings, but family time was impeded upon to accommodate extra-curricular activities. And eventually, Sunday mornings were taken as well. In modern times, there are all kinds of sports being held on Sunday mornings. Christian athletes now have to make choices—play with my team on Sunday mornings, or not be allowed on the team. We didn’t stand up as our Sundays were taken, or perhaps we did stand up and just got outvoiced and outvoted.
There seems to be a lot of outside noise aimed at Christians today. Perhaps some of it is deserved. When one can’t tell the difference between the Christian and non-Christian, when “Christians” engage in non-Christian activity, when Christians act in a more fanatical rather than loving way, it gives the world outside of Christianity pause to criticize Christians and Christianity.
What is not deserved, however, is when a Christian is trying to adhere to certain morals and standards and is criticized by the non-Christian segment of the world. Many years ago, there was a tragedy in my parish, as a teenager was killed by a drunk driver. This was many years ago, in 2000, so not even recently. I offered to the school where the young man attended to make myself available for anyone that might need some counsel. The school invited me to attend an assembly to address the student body, many of whom had been affected by this tragedy. After I agreed to come, the school countered with the “terms” by which I could come and speak. We discussed what I would wear. I said I wear a black shirt with a collar in it. This is my “uniform” so to speak, just like police officers, firefighters, military personnel and others have a uniform that wear when working. They said they weren’t sure they were comfortable with this. I told them, this is what I wear when I’m working. Reluctantly, they agreed. Upon arriving at the school, I was given a list of words that they felt would be inappropriate for me to use when speaking, words like “Jesus,” “heaven,” “salvation,” “soul” and others that would seem reasonable for the occasion I was to address. While I somehow made it through the presentation avoiding these “hot-button” words, I still remember, now many years later, how that felt, to be “censored” because of what I believe.
It seems that in many ways, the world accommodates all religious points of view except for Christianity. Christians are accused of being intolerant, when really it is so many people who seem to be intolerant of us. The words of Jesus in John 15 are a source of comfort—that we will be hated by others because of our love for Christ. Jesus continues in John 16:2, saying that “They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” This is a pretty stark warning. In the Beatitudes, in Matthew 5: 11-12, Jesus says, in sharing these prescriptions for daily living, “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.” He tells us that it is actually a blessing when we are persecuted and hated, because He notices this and will reward us accordingly.
Ironically, the world encourages “you be you,” unless you are a Christian. In my Christian journey, I prefer I Corinthians 16:13, “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.” Christianity is part of my identity. There have been a few times when our son missed worship because of a sports event. However, this has been more exception than rule. He has missed sports in order to worship many more times than he has missed worship to play sports.
When we stand in front of our Lord at the awesome judgment seat, the sports trophies are not going to matter. God won’t be impressed with our little league stats. Many of us have seen the statistics of how few children who play sports actually become professional athletes. It is a miniscule percentage. However, 100% of all of us will stand in front of the Lord for His judgment on our lives, whether or not we are worthy to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Everyone has to deal with the outside noise against Christianity in their own way, based on their own conscience and convictions. In my opinion, the best way to deal with the anti-Christian sentiments is to show what it is to be a Christian. Jesus said emphatically in John 13:35, “By THIS all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” I’ve always been inspired by the words of Joshua 24:15, when he said to the people of Israel, “And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The best way to serve the Lord is not standing on a street corner holding a sign asking if people are saved. It is not to be at a protest, advocating to advance a political position. It is in gestures of love and kindness for those around us, those who believe as we do, and especially towards those who don’t.
Lord, there are so many voices that stand in opposition to Christianity. Some of those voices are in my own head—voices of doubt and voices of temptations. Before quieting the voices around me, please quiet the voices within me. Put a voice of love in place of these voices. Put into my mouth a voice of love that I can use with all people. Help my mind, my eyes, my hands and my feet to be an extension of this voice of love. May others see You through me. May I also be surrounded by voices who encourage me as a Christian. May I be a voice of encouragement to others in their Christian journey. Amen.
There is a phrase that many of us know—“kill them with kindness.” This doesn’t mean we advocate killing anyone. It means that the voices who stand against Christians are silenced with kindness. Stand up for your Christianity, stand up as a witness for Christ, not by what you say, but by what you do.
