Does it just suck being you?

There is a lot of hate in the world.

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.

Linked by truth

I cannot lie.

We see an interesting link to lying in the movie Liar Liar.

A character played by Jim Carey is a lawyer and known for lying to get ahead.

After his kid makes a wish on his birthday cake, Carey’s character cannot lie.

He is left to tell the truth and says what some people would classify as hurtful.

There is truth behind what he says.

What if people told the truth all the time?

How would that look to you?

Give your opinion I would love to see some comments.

Are we known as people of truth?

So often in life, politics are played and we hold back what we want to say because of how we would look or what that would say.

I had some people give me some true honest opinions through the years.

I was at work at MSU when I told some people I was engaged.

Most people said congratulations, one person said, “You’ll be divorced in three months.”

They were basing this off of one of their friend’s relationships that got engaged at a young age.

I was also told by someone at a Church I ministered at, “If you leave this Church you will be out of ministry within five years.”

It can be harsh when people speak their own mind, but opinions aren’t truths.

What separates a truth and an opinion?

Having faith is believing in three things, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Also known as the Trinity).

John 14:16-17…

“And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

Coming to faith, there is a Spirit within you.

Sometimes you won’t believe what is within you.

My friend Matt was telling me a story about how hard it is to hit a baseball.

All the signs and scientific approaches cannot prove how someone can hit a small baseball traveling upwards of 100 mph.

The human mind is not supposed to be able to make that happen, yet it does.

Faith gives us three things to believe in truth, Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit.

There is truth with this, truth beyond our own understanding.

When people mention your name do they mention truthful and honest?

Do they mention opinionated and only cares about themselves?

Can people see your belief or your faith?

If we are people that believe in the truth, does it come out in our actions?

Have a great day.