Should I Care What You Think About Me?

SHOULD I CARE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT ME?

John 8:48-54

Have you ever heard someone say, 'I don't care what people think about me'? Most of the time when I hear someone say this there's an edge to it, telling me that deep down they really do care; otherwise their tone would be apathetic, not bitter. But should we care what people think about us? Well...yes and no.

1) False accusations.

Have you ever been falsely accused of something? Have you ever been called something you weren't? How did you respond? A natural response is to say something nasty in return. A natural response would be to slander them. In John 8 Jesus was falsely accused. Let's see how he responded.

John 8:48-50, "The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge."

The Jews were already worked up from Jesus' words earlier about them not being children of God. So now they accuse him of being possessed. This was a seriously damning accusation. It's the opposite of who Jesus was. How does he respond? He simply corrected them, "I'm not demon-possessed". He doesn't flip out, he doesn't attack, he counters their false accusation with the truth.

But how could he maintain self-control when he's being accused of something so evil? He tells us how when he said he wasn't seeking glory for himself. He relied on God to glorify him. Jesus wasn't out to impress people, he wasn't building himself up to look good, his focus was to glorify God.

If people spoke badly of him he didn't let it get to him because he knew it wasn't true and he knew the Father knew it wasn't true. And if those around him believed the religious leaders he was confident that his actions would validate his claim that he wasn't possessed.

That's how we should be when someone says things that are false about us. We don't need to go off, we just need to respond with the truth. If someone doesn't want to believe us that's on them. We want them to see the truth, but we shouldn't feel we need to jump through hoops to try to convince them or let their negative opinions about us rent any space in our head. Instead we just continue to do good.

1 Pet. 2:12, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

We let our actions speak for us. People can say what they want but when we choose to not get caught up in the drama and continue to live godly lives then the ones who care to know the truth will see the contrast in what people are saying about us vs. what they see in us and it will all work out in the end.

1 Pet. 3:15-16, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

When we commit to honor Jesus as our Lord then it doesn't matter what people say about us or do to us, we will continue to act in morality and integrity. We're to live good lives among all people. And when we witness to someone and they have a negative response toward the gospel, we don't come out of character-we treat them gently and respectfully.

We can stand firm on the truth and still be gentle. We don't have to yell to get our point across. The hope would be that those who spew false accusations and turn our godly works into something evil will come to be ashamed for slandering us when it's clear we have no ulterior motives; we just want to love people and present the gospel to them.

2) Who do you think you are?

John 8:51-54, "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” At this the Jews exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me."