hated

I’m feeling guilty this morning, because the world doesn’t hate me. Really. I feel like if I were really a passionate advocate for Jesus, the world would attack me.

I think that this morning because of a simple statement that Jesus made to his brothers. John 7:7 tells us that Jesus said to them, among other things,  “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.”

The world’s works are evil! There’s evil all around us.  Drugs, pornography, or anything else that enslaves us is abhorrent. The meanness of snark and hate and other-izing of any group of people is cruel. The legitimizing of sin paired with shaming of any voice for Christ is appalling. All of these things work evil in our world. 

But do I testify against this evil? Evidently not enough, because the world doesn’t seem to hate me. My secular co-workers think I’m pretty cool. I don’t get flamed on social media. I have a reputation in my industry for being a common-sense guy. Doesn’t it seem like, if I were following Jesus’ example, somewhere along the line I would encounter hate speech?

I get it that the difference between me and Jesus is that his very existence condemns the world. Every step he took on earth was a threat to evil. I get it that there’s a larger theological point to this verse. But part of any devotional time is trying to take away a lesson for my own holiness, and it seems to be this verse can also be read as a call not to try to be loved by the world, a call to speak out against evil where I see it.. 

I don’t often speak out because I don’t want to pick a fight. I don’t want to be offensive. I tell myself that it’s part of being a winsome Christian, of not making my faith something that people perceive to be hateful. But I wonder how much of it is really just going along to get along. How often am I most motivated by making my own life easier?

I don’t know. I do see evil in the world, and I hate it. But I can’t think of the last time I took action against it, or even spoke out. Am I more concerned about fitting into this world, or fighting for it on Jesus’ behalf?

This morning I’m not sure, but it doesn’t feel good. It feels like however I feel about the world, the world is fine with me.