Hated for the wrong reasons

“So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.”
-Proverbs 3:4

It seems to me that the world hates Christians for the wrong reasons, and it also loves Christians for the wrong reasons.

Why does it hate us? I turn on the news, and I hear people complaining about Christians. They say we’re stuck up, self-righteous, condemning, hateful. Basically, they say, we’re a bunch of jerks who are trying to ruin everyone’s fun. They say we’re trying to shove our agenda down everyone’s throats. We’re trying to force everyone to be like us.

Why do they like us? With a few exceptions, we seclude ourselves away in churches amongst Christian friends and we don’t bother them. They don’t like what we stand for, but even we have to admit, we don’t stand for it very often. And thankfully, they would say, the number of Christians is rapidly decreasing.

So we have the image of the Christian from the world’s point of view. We’re self-righteous and annoying, but at least we keep to ourselves and aren’t converting a bunch more people.

In truth, the world should hate us, but not because we’re stuck up and religious. It should hate us because we stand up and say, “You’re not good enough! I’m not good enough! No one is good enough! That’s why we need Jesus.”

They will hate us plenty when we shine the light of truth on their actions. People get upset when they get called out on the things they are doing wrong. I know I did. I thought Christianity was about following rules. But it’s not about religion. It’s not about a bunch of rules. It’s about following Jesus.

We should not do this to prove how great we are, because we’re not. We sin just like everyone else does. When we tell the world about sin, it is not to call people to ourselves, but to call people to the one who saved us. I can tell you that you’re a sinner, but I can’t do a thing about it, just like I cannot do a thing about my own sin. But I know someone who can, and that’s why I tell you about it.

So that’s why the world will hate us, but this verse is talking about the way the world will love us. They should love us because we love them.

The Spirit will blossom such love in us that the world will not be able to help but to see it. Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). 1 John 4: 8: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

And what does degree of love really mean? It means that we are willing to give up our lives for that person (1 John 3:16, John 15:13).

In other words, you’re going to love your neighbor so much that you will talk to him about Jesus, which will make him mad, because he doesn’t want the light to shine on his deeds. But then you’re going to love him so much that you’ll help him fix his car, even after he cursed you out, which will make him think that maybe there’s something to Jesus after all.

Both must go together. Let me be very clear on this point: You are not loving your neighbor if you never talk about Jesus. If you love someone, you will want them to have life. And without Jesus, we are doomed. We have all sinned, and in sin we are unworthy of eternal life. We have condemned ourselves eternally. Heaven is no place for lust, pride, self-righteousness, ambition, and greed, and we wallow in that mess every day. Only Jesus lived without sin, and yet died anyway. He did not deserve to die, but he died.

Because of that, we who deserve to die may live. He took our sins upon Himself and died with them. He is able to give us His Spirit so we can walk in His righteousness. If we repent and believe in Him, we will find life. I ask you to repent of your sin and truth in Jesus, for through Him we may live.