I know some people hate the word hate.
I never thought of hate as a strong word.
What makes up a strong word anyways?
Have you ever been hated?
Where you know people didn’t like you?
I am a people pleaser, it’s something I am trying to change because I can let that affect me.
I try to be someone everyone likes, but that’s my own fault, some people just don’t like me.
Why do people not like you?
Is it because of something you did to them?
Did you give them a dirty look or disrespect them in public?
I know that I am hated for a certain reason.
My faith.
Christianity just tends to rub some people the wrong way.
Whether it’s because some people just don’t believe in God/ Jesus or because a Christian/Church has rubbed someone the wrong way, we can be disliked.
Jesus tells us this in John 15:18…
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
Not exactly the most uplifting scripture.
People can take this as a way to be a jerk and be a Christian.
“I am just standing up for my faith,” I have heard multiple times as a reason for tearing someone apart.
“You believe in that? Well you are going to Hell,” is a sad statement I have heard because some Christians have used their opinions as Biblical truths.
Now there are some areas to stand firm in, but being mean and expressing it with a strong dislike is not the answer.
Having faith is not easy.
Nor are we promised it will be.
After Jesus got baptized at the age of 30, the Holy Spirit sent him in the desert to be tempted by Satan for 40 days.
That sucks.
You make a decision to get baptized then get torn apart for 40 days.
We have to face the facts not everyone will like us or agree with us.
People weren’t happy with Jesus for telling the truth and they put him on the cross.
There is nothing Biblical saying faith is easy and once you make the decision to follow and trust Jesus with your life, it’s going to be easy.
It’s hard.
Family will turn their back on you, some friends might not look at you in the same light, people might call you a hypocrite because you change who you were.
Jesus tells this harsh truth to his disciples in John 16:2…
“They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.”
Ouch.
Then you wonder why some people say, “I’m out,” when it comes to faith.
Faith is not going to a Church service.
Faith is a lifestyle.
If you truly believe, your life will change and not just what you do Sunday morning.
Faith is so much more than being asked to pass a plate Sunday morning.
Faith is standing up for what you believe even when you know you could be mocked for it.
I have seen this done in some negative ways, but there has to be a line drawn.
I can’t please everyone.
No matter how much I want to, it’s not possible.
Jesus was perfect and they hated him.
Do people hate you for a worthy cost or because you are just mean to them.
Faith is not easy, but it’s worth it.
I am nothing without my faith.
Through thick and thin, the good and the bad and the imperfections of me, I still have faith.
Jesus is worth living for because he classified me as being worth dying for.
He did the same for you.
Have a great day.
