It's Midterm Week, and y'all know what that means (or, at least you should by now): it's time for me to procrastinating studying for about an hour and write a blog! It's going to be kind of a Lulu, I think. I almost through a Mississippi-hissy fit because this blog has been rattling around for about a week, and when I opened the "new post" window, I forgot it. Yeah, I almost flipped the table. Luckily for me (and the rest of this cafe that I'm sitting in), I remembered as soon as I closed the window.
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. Matthew 24:9
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. John 15:18-19a
When I lived in my safe little hometown firmly cinched in the Bible Belt, I had no idea what these verses meant. Nobody hates me. Why could anybody hate me because I'm a Christian? I didn't do anything wrong. I'm just going to school and to church like everybody else in this little bitty town.
And then I went to college.
Now, I have had entire conversations with people who I thought were cool, heck, entire friendships with people that I thought were cool, until they found out that I go to church... After they find out I go to church, we usually have one more conversation that goes about like "So are you a Christian? How could you? You can't tell me how to live my life. I won't let you judge me!" Yet just before that, we were friends. I never judged them. I never even gave them so much as an idea about what to get for lunch at Chickfila, much less spiritual guidance.
What did I do?
This college that I go to, minus the safe-haven of Christian friends that I retreat to, is very vocal on why they hate Christianity. I've never heard such hatred about any other religion, not even Islam. Everyone's afraid that if they hate on Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc, they'll be labeled as "rascist" or some other ridiculousness. Christianity though, is safe to hate on. I mean, we persecuted first, right? We had the Crusades and all that stuff... killing tons of people in the name of God CENTURIES ago. Nevermind the fact that there are terrorists of another religion (that shall remain nameless because know they're RADICALS and don't represent that religion as a whole) killing tons of people NOW.
We're hated because we're judgemental. We judge people for everything they do. We're hypocrites, but so are they. We're flawed, but so are they. We are hated for the same reason that people hate themselves. Except this time, people blame our flaws on a higher power that they don't believe exists but we know does exist.
It's a paradox. Christians are hated because we hated first... But, the thing is, I don't hate anybody. I never killed people in crusades. I used to judge people and it is an active responsibility to not do that, but tell me you don't judge people. It's a universal problem to try and make yourself look better by tearing others down in your mind (or out loud). I don't sit in Free Speech Alley, calling girls in shorts "Jezebel" and telling college students they're going to hell. I have never burned a Qu'ran.
I'm not perfect, but you hate me for reasons that you cannot articulate. However, allow me to do that for you, using the very doctrine that you hate. With that, I'll go back to the verse I left off with:
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.- John 15:19
If all the Christians in the world stopped being all the things that the world hates us for, hypocrites, haters, judgers, proselytizers, screaming sign-wearing crazies, the world would still hate us. It would find a reason. But here's the kicker, God doesn't like haters and judgers and hypocrites either! We still have to stop being all these things, but not because the world hates it, but because it's not BIBLICAL! It's not Christlike! Christ was hated and that guy was perfect! We are called to be Christlike, but that does not mean we will not be hated along the way.
And so, lift your head, you little Christian alien. You are not of this world, so stop acting like it! Stop waiting for the world to love you as much as it loves Lady Gaga and start living for the God that loves you so much that we cannot possibly understand it.
Live for Jesus, but understand that it comes with a price of having enemies of the world.
