{"id":255,"date":"2013-12-17T20:46:28","date_gmt":"2013-12-17T20:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonsensechristianity\/?p=255"},"modified":"2013-12-18T20:28:26","modified_gmt":"2013-12-18T20:28:26","slug":"two-reasons-why-the-world-hates-christians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonsensechristianity\/2013\/12\/two-reasons-why-the-world-hates-christians.html","title":{"rendered":"Two Reasons Why the World Hates Christians"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Christianity” and “Love” are two words that we hope are associated together. Madonna and Toddler, original oil painting by Steve Henderson of Steve Henderson Fine Art.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Christians have a bad reputation for being unkind, intolerant, harsh, judgmental, and self-righteous. Oh, and uneducated.<\/p>\n

Now of course, anytime you speak about, or live, moral absolutes, you’ll get attacked by people who don’t want to be told — either by your words or example — that what they’re doing is wrong. Jesus Himself didn’t make a lot of friends on this planet.<\/p>\n

From time and distance, however, most people, even those who don’t choose to believe who Christ is and what He says, concede that He was “a great teacher,” or a “morally upright man.” They don’t go on and on about His acrimonious unfeeling attitude toward the lives and feelings of others.<\/p>\n

That’s reserved for us, His hands and feet, His voice and message, and Christ warned us that this would be so:<\/p>\n

“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. 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.”<\/i>\u00a0(John 15: 18-19)<\/p>\n

If They Hated Christ, They’ll Hate You<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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The world is filled with many travelers, all sharing the same space. Harbor Faire, original oil painting by Steve Henderson, sold. More of Steve’s works are at Steve Henderson Fine Art.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So the upshot is, if you are truly living for Christ, the eventual outcome is that many people who do not know Him — the world — will hate you, simply because of who and what your Master, Christ, is. And yet you, and I, persevere because the message which the world hates so much — that God loves us, deeply and dearly, and wants to enfold us in His arms — is one that individual people within the world are crying to hear.<\/p>\n

That’s Part A of Why the World Hates Us.<\/p>\n

Part B is a bit more disturbing, because it — justifiably — makes us look bad.<\/p>\n

But Sometimes, There’s Another Reason<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Too many times, people strongly dislike Christians not because of the message of our Master, but because of the attitude we project when we seek to convey that message. We come across as<\/p>\n