A dychotomy
I've been wondering about something for quite some time now.
Proverbs 11:10
When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
Proverbs 16:7
When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD,
He makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
Proverbs 29:2
When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.
Matthew 5:11
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Luke 6:22
Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
Luke 6:26
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
John 15:18-19
18) If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19) 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.
There's a strange dychotomy here with these verses. On the one hand, we have Solomon telling us that living a godly life will cause others to rejoice, and even our enemies will live peacefully with us. Yet, Jesus reminds His followers that people will hate us for following Him. So how does this work?
The reason why I ask is because I don't know of anybody who hates me. In fact, I know of a lot of people, many of them are not believers, who have a great deal of respect for me. Especially in regard to my faith. If anything, those individuals who know me best, know that my faith is uncompromising. And they certainly respect me for it, even if they don't believe or agree with my convictions.
So, am I doing something right? Or am I doing something horribly wrong?
Proverbs 11:10
When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
Proverbs 16:7
When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD,
He makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
Proverbs 29:2
When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.
Matthew 5:11
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Luke 6:22
Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
Luke 6:26
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
John 15:18-19
18) If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19) 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.
There's a strange dychotomy here with these verses. On the one hand, we have Solomon telling us that living a godly life will cause others to rejoice, and even our enemies will live peacefully with us. Yet, Jesus reminds His followers that people will hate us for following Him. So how does this work?
The reason why I ask is because I don't know of anybody who hates me. In fact, I know of a lot of people, many of them are not believers, who have a great deal of respect for me. Especially in regard to my faith. If anything, those individuals who know me best, know that my faith is uncompromising. And they certainly respect me for it, even if they don't believe or agree with my convictions.
So, am I doing something right? Or am I doing something horribly wrong?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Cross on -
I love you, Big V!
Seems we live in a similar world.
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Cross on
-
I never really considered expanding this beyond my circle of acquaintances to people that I've never met. So I guess in some generic sense I am hated. But this doesn't explain the two or three muslims that I work with who don't hate me...
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Cross on
-
Thanks brother Ruben!
And now, allow me to share some encouragement with you.
What you've written here, about a new breed of Christian and special soldier, reflects very closely to something that has been prophesied over me several times in the 26 years that I've been a believer.
God speaks to you and you listen.
-
Permalink Reply by trish toner on -
good point I have been reading about Martin Luther King jr. In the Civil right movment time. everyone hated him. Of course we know all the exepected groups that hated him. The NAACP Criticized him for being too radical the SNCC accused him of tinidity. at one time he wanted to give up here are his words .... And it seened at that moment that I could hear an inner voice saying to me " Martin lutther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. stand up for truth. and lo I will be with you, even until the end of the worlk" ... I hear the voice of Jesus saying still fight on. I will never leave you alone he promised to never leave me alone. He was hated. he made soem morle mistakes i will admit. but he took a non violet stand aganist that hate. He was being beat and told people not to fight back. Now he is a role modal for the way he lived his life. thoses pasages reminded me of him
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Cross on
-
Cool. By default then I must remind you of Martin Luther King Jr.
LOL !!!
-
Permalink Reply by Benji Williams on -
The bible says some things that are contradictions in a way but it is all said for a reason. The bible explains different circumstances and then the Holy Spirit can use God's word to communicate to us.
I don't have anyone who I have problems with right now but I have in the past. I don't understand God or why He does what He does or what it counts for. If someone says they understand God they may understand Him, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about how life is hard to understand spiritually. For example how do we measure if we are on track with God. Everything seems wrong in my life, but God has answered a couple of prayers too. People do hate us for following Christ. They hate us because we are saying something proposterous. We are saying that you need Christ. A lot of people that are Christians condemn other people, that they will go to hell if they don't believe. I don't do that but I do worry about people I love who don't believe. They might go to hell.
If you love God and your actions in obedience to Him seem right than you are doing the right thing.
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Cross on
-
I'm not really looking at these as contradictions so much as conflicting principals that we're expected to live by.
I expect to be hated when I make a stand, but nobody is forcing me to. So I simply live my life in obedience to the Holy Spirit and let people see what they see. Perhaps it's a reflection on the people in my life being drawn towards Christ by the Holy Spirit. Maybe God is using me ot plant seeds in soil that is prepared, or maybe I'm preparing that ground for someone else to plant a seed into. Either way, I see God doing things around me and others seem pleased to hear about it. How cool is that?
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Cross on
-
Adam,
"As long as God has given you a good reputation among your non-Christian friends, use it for God's glory. Even Jesus sat peacefully among sinners -- Not partaking in their sinful ways, but giving them the hope of redemption."
I appreciate this. I have worked hard to gain the reputation I have. And I believe it does glorify God when people see the way I live my life. Thank you, Brother!
Latest Activity
© 2012 Created by Pastor Greg.
