BY GREG CRUM
“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” John 15:19
One of the greatest ills of our generation is the lust for affirmation. I guess the desire to be approved of by our peers and mentors has been a human trait since very early in our history, but it seems that in our time this need for praise has swollen the banks of our psyche and flooded our daily thoughts to the point of obsession. To be “liked,” to be “friended,” to be “followed” is the equivalent to love for so many. So, what’s the big deal, right? What’s the problem with this? For a believer, it’s a trap. The desire to be loved by the masses (the world) will eventually cause many to compromise their commitment to Christ in exchange for the fickle affirmation of a thumbs-up.
Last week we wrote to you about how fear of rejection is a snare. It’s a trap when we live concerned about people not liking us, not accepting us, and not allowing us into their peer circle because of our beliefs in the Lord Jesus and because of our lifestyle as we pursue a relationship with Him. Sadly, this is a very real fear for many Christians today. They crave affirmation. They desperately need people to “like” them (on social media and in the flesh). It’s like so many today are stuck in a middle school mentality, and no wonder really, because years saved doesn’t equate to maturity in our relationship with Jesus. Anyway, this type of “fear of man” is a waste of energy, emotion, time, and focus. More importantly, it’s a hopeless chase that is leading so many away from our calling to be salt and light in this world.
We left off last week saying that this vain pursuit for pats on the back from the populace is one of the things that is causing the modern American church to be so ineffective compared to our earliest examples seen in the book of Acts. We trade truth for easy conversations and call compromise a witnessing tool. We’ve given unbelievers nothing different to desire in us. In our attempts to “identify” with them, to show them we are “just like them, only we believe in Jesus,” we have effectively denied the power of the Gospel in our hearts and the glorious change God has worked in us.
Unbelievers, or maybe better said, not-yet-believers, need to see that we are different. We must endeavor to show them there is a marked difference in our lives because Jesus is our Lord. They need to see we don’t think the same, we don’t desire to do the same things, we don’t react the same way they do to the events that occur in our lives. They need to see that we are not alike, and that’s the rub, because if we do this the right way it will cause many to not like us.
Living by the beliefs of Jesus (by faith) will cause you to be “unliked” and “unfriended” by the world. Matthew 10:16-22, John 15:17-19, and I Peter 4:1-4 all testify that the world will reject those who choose to closely follow the directives of Jesus. To be effective in this generation, we need to be okay with that, but to be okay with that we must learn to seek our affirmation from Christ alone. If He’s the only one that likes us, isn’t that all that matters?
Now, I know an adversarial stance with the world isn’t fun, but it can be the most loving thing you will ever do for your neighbor. It can shine a light into their lives and wake them up to a better way. When they see you are steadfast and genuine in your “difference,” they can begin to believe that there is something to this “Jesus thing.” When they see you are okay with being an outcast, it can lead them out of their darkness! (Matthew 5:13-16)
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.