Are you hated?

I am! The Bible actually says that Christians will be hated because of their diligent stand for the truth. Luke 21:17 says, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” A Christian, while living above reproach, will cause, by their righteous life, the dismay and anger of others. Soon before Jesus died on the cross, He said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). John 17:14 adds, “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

No one I know enjoys being hated. In fact, it’s pretty reprehensible to most people. But one cannot change the fact that we are disliked by the world. Jesus explained it by saying, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19-20). Are you hated? If not, perhaps you are not being distinctive enough. John writes, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother” (1 John 3:9-10). If you are hated, first make sure that you are hated for the right reason, and secondly, rejoice that you have done the will of God!

Kyle Campbell