Let’s be honest. People hate you. Don’t get me wrong, people hate me too. Its not you its…well sometimes it is you. Let me explain.
There are times when people legitimately hate you. There are times when you come off as being judgmental. You may or may not see it. It may not be intentional but it is still within your realm of control. You can’t blame someone else for being mad at you for being judgmental…can you? Well sometimes we do. Sometimes we build arguments around why it is okay for us to be judgmental toward others. We will defend that argument, we’ve decided, with our last dying breath! The problem with that is that there are definitely hills to die on. For instance, “Is Jesus the Son of God?” Yes. He is. I believe that with all of my heart. I don’t have to punch someone in the face over it but I won’t back down from my belief in the deity of Christ.
I can do that with grace, mercy and love. I can still respect the other person’s opinion and listen to them carefully without shutting them down. Without being judgmental. The moment you cross over into being judgmental and hypocritical people are within their full right to not like you. Don’t get upset over that. Realize that you have made a mistake and correct it.
Now, there are times when people will hate you for just believing what you believe. For following Jesus. That will make some people angry and they might label you a red neck, hateful bigot. If people do that, just remember, they hated Jesus first. But please don’t retreat to that fact when you have indeed offended someone and hated on them. In other words, don’t give them a reason to hate you other than your love for Jesus.
As believers we shouldn’t be indignant over the fact that people will make fun of us, deride us and even disdain that we hold to things that seem outdated and ignorant. Its time for us to put on our big boy/ big girl pants and accept that. It doesn’t mean that we ever stop professing our love for Jesus and following Him with our whole heart. It does mean that we need to stop dying on the wrong hill. Love God and love others.
John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
mlsnellings 