This is kind of a personal outpouring. Please bear with me as it does lead to a biblical conclusion.
Some people don’t like me. Hard to believe, I know (lol). Probably you don’t…yet, you’re still reading. It is a sad conclusion I have come to acknowledge recently. When I was younger, not born-again, I believed that people always meant me good, as I did them. I was not perfect in my treatment of others (and am still not) but I felt that others naturally wished others well. This was a result of innocence on my part, yet also of blindness.
As I grew in faith and became more vocal (not as “nice”) about biblical truths, I discovered an undercurrent of hostility towards me. Gossip and mean-spiritedness, even among Christians (so-called). “Family and friends” have even turned away, whispering about me.
I am not alone in this situation. We Christians, are in general, not a liked bunch. However, this is to be expected, and even embraced, as a direct result of our faith.
Jesus said it best as relayed in John 15:18-19 KJV:
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Let us take comfort in those words for Satan is sly, delighting in creating division and hard-heartedness.
Beware of his devices.
People-pleasing is not a godly trait. Should we love our enemies? Yes. However, God warns us against communing with the true forces of darkness, telling us to flee from wickedness. Satanic influence we are told to hate. To clarify, hate does not mean physical violence. It means turning away from the reprobates. God does not love evil, and neither should we. We ought to trust God’s discernment to guide us away from spiritual harm.
It is ok to be not “liked”.
-Melanie DiLeo
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