By Pastor Greg
Dr. Seuss tells us that the Grinch
hated Christmas because all the noise.
But here in our world, have you ever wondered why some people seem to
hate Christians, and not just at Christmas time? Oh, I know not everyone hates Christians, but
every now and then you will meet a person or an organization that seems bent on
silencing the message of the Church. And
maybe their reaction doesn’t make sense because I know Christians are motivated
by love and concern for those living around us.
But still, Christians are persecuted and hated all over the world, and
no one can give a good reason why.
Think about what Christianity does
to the average person. If they truly
surrender their life to Jesus, the Spirit will transform that individual into
someone who is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle,
and self-controlled. Christian men and
women become more dependable at work.
They genuinely care about others, and don’t merely look out for their
own interests. They are better
neighbors, better citizens, and tend to be considerate and polite in the
check-out line. They don’t return hate
when hated. Instead, they love. They share things with others. Why would anyone hate a person like that?
Okay. Okay.
I know what you’re thinking. You
want to point out that not every Christian acts like this. Well, yes, that’s true. But many of us are a work in progress. The Spirit is at work within us to transform
us into this kind of Christian. And yet,
despite our failures and weaknesses, we followers of Jesus seem to be hated and
criticized
So, why the hatred? Listen to what Jesus said.
(John 15:18-25) 18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated
me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you
belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come
out of the world, so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I
told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me,
naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would
listen to you. 21 They will do all this to you because of me,
for they have rejected the one who sent me. 22 They would not
be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for
their sin. 23 Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If
I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they
would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they
still hate me and my Father. 25 This fulfills what is written
in their Scriptures*: ‘They hated me without cause.” [1]
Why did the people hate
Jesus? Because they loved the darkness
more than the light (John 3:19). And why
do they reject Christians today? Because
they first rejected Jesus (verse 18).
Some people in this world will reject us and our message for no other
reason than they hate Jesus. They hate
the light. As you and I are taking the
message of God’s Grace out into the world, we will meet people who hate us and
do everything in their power to silence the message of the Church.
Personally, I glad Jesus didn’t
start off with this lesson. How many of
us would race off gung ho to tell the world about the Lord if we knew the world
would hate us. And yet, it seems, Jesus
wanted us to know what we are up against.
He warns us that hatred, by some, is a given. But He also encourages us that the Holy
Spirit will help us as we witness to others about Jesus. The Spirit, working through us, will testify
about Jesus. It reminds me of the time
Barnabas and Paul we trying to tell the governor of Paphos about Jesus. But a sorcerer kept interrupting and told him
to ignore what these Christians were saying.
That’s when Paul, filled with the Spirit, called the sorcerer the “Son
of the Devil” (see Acts 13:6-12).
See, that’s what I want to
do. Sometimes I just want to let loose a
string of rebukes toward those who mock and ridicule my Lord. However, I think Jesus knew our tendency to
fight fire with fire. Therefore, He
throws in a subtle reminder that His followers are to respond differently. He reminds us that we have been plucked out
of the world – meaning, we should respond to hatred differently.
Let me close by spending a few
moments talking about how Christians should respond to the world’s hatred. As Christians, we are to respond to trouble,
hatred, and criticism with Magnanimity. I know, you’re thinking Magna-what? It’s an old
English word that means “loftiness of spirit
enabling one to bear trouble calmly, to disdain meanness and pettiness, and to
display a noble generosity.” Today
we might say this person is a true gentleman, or that she is very tactful. Although we would rather respond to the world
with hatred, we are called to bear trouble calmly, which is not so easily
accomplished.
In a recent blog post, Kevin
DeYoung wrote, “The magnanimous person is the one who does not bear petty
grudges, does not wallow in self-pity, does not demand penance, does not advertise
his suffering, and does not stoop to settle every score. In an age where
everyone is scrambling to be more aggrieved than everyone else, where we think
nothing of retweeting praise and retweeting insults (to prove our aggrieved
status), where apologies are routinely demanded and offendedness is next to
godliness, surely we have much to learn about magnanimity.
It’s not only the right thing to
do. It’s the smart thing to do. While we certainly want to stand up to real
physical violence and insist on all the rights accorded us by God and by the
laws of the land, when it comes to insults, rudeness, and social media
scrappiness, killing them with kindness is usually the way to go.” [2]
The main reason Christians should
respond with magnanimity is because Jesus has called us out of this world
(verse 19). This, I believe, is the main
point He is trying to teach. Yes, there
will be people who hate us for no good reason.
They will say things, post nasty statements on Facebook, try to pass
laws that restrict our ability to tell others about Jesus, and they will write
nasty blog posts about our Faith.
However, we are not to react as a person of the world. At present, we may still be in this world,
but our actions must demonstrate that we are no longer part of this world. Solomon wrote, A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and
it is his glory to overlook a transgression[3]
(Proverbs 19:11). And when you or I can
take an insult and bear it calmly, we give glory to God – the One who has
called us out of this world.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 15:18–25). Carol Stream, IL.
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