Why Am I Not Hated?

Why Am I Not Hated – Mark 13:13

As I was reading through this past couple of weeks, I found the book of Mark to be speaking directly to me. Last week we spoke about being politically correct, and I know that I didn’t use scripture from Mark, but I believe one of the verses that sparked the thought was Mark 8:34 where it says “And He summoned the crowd with His disciples and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” Think about this in context, in the lifetime of Jesus, the cross was not something anyone wanted to carry because they knew this was going to lead them to their death. We don’t have that happening here today. However, we do still need to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. That is a difficult thing to do. We see things that we want, we want to do things that make us feel good, we want what we want and we do what is comfortable for us to do. We conform to our surroundings and like I said last week, we get caught up in being politically correct so that we don’t offend people. This week is a bit of a continuation from last week’s theme. We need not worry about being offensive to humans if we are pleasing God. I am more concerned about offending Him than anyone else. Jesus told us in Mark 13:13 that “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” What does that mean? Does that mean that we should seek to be hated? No, I don’t believe so. But I do believe that it means we need to stand up against the sins of the world. Not the people, not the sinners, but the sins. We are to educate the world of God’s word. We are to be, as followers of Christ, the moral compass for everyone. The examples people want to follow. How can we do that if we are not standing strong behind what He has written? He warns us that we will be hated but He also says that if we endure to the end, we will be saved. Sounds like a promise to me. My commentary says that this endurance does not produce salvation, but it is Spirit empowered perseverance and proof of the reality of salvation in the one who endures. So I ask you, does anyone hate you because you are not willing to bend the biblical standard, or do you bend it enough that people don’t really know where you stand? Why am I not hated? What am I doing wrong? Am I being too wishy washy? Am I living a life that doesn’t truly reflect God’s love? Remember that love also means we care enough to tell someone when they are doing wrong. We care enough about them to let them know what the consequences of their choices could be if they don’t repent. Is this an easy task? Is this a comfortable thing to do? Is it something that we do naturally? The answer to all three of those questions, in my opinion is no, it’s not easy, it’s not comfortable and it’s not natural, but it is necessary! My friends we live in a world where adultery, theft, rape, murder, drunkenness, divorce, non-biblical sexual relations, and lying is more common than sharing, caring, and loving. There are people in this world that seek to manipulate and tear down others for their own gain everywhere. How is our life different from theirs? What are we doing to teach them as our great commission says we are to do? How are we loving them as Jesus would love them? Loving someone means caring enough to tell them when they are doing wrong. We give second chances, third chances, as a matter of fact, we are to give 490 chances, doesn’t Jesus say we are to forgive 7 times 70 times? I’m not saying that we should let people walk over us and take whatever people give us. Quite the opposite, we are to be like Christ. Did He walk away from the Pharisees when they challenged Him? No, he stood up to them and made them question themselves numerous times. Did He turn away from the struggles people faced? No, he helped them through it and healed them from them. What was the last thing He told the woman that committed adultery? “Go and sin no more.” He gave us a model for forgiveness and second chances. This is the teacher we are to follow. This is THE TEACHER we are to learn from. This TEACHER is the TRUTH. 2 Timothy 4:3-4“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” We spoke about that last week. We should be ready in season and out of season with patience and instruction. If we are confused about what to do in certain situations, we should seek wisdom from God. Ask and it will be given, seek His counsel at all times. It may not be pleasing to others around you to speak up about biblical incorrectness when you hear it happening. Yes God wants good for all of His children, but that doesn’t mean He wants us to do whatever makes US happy at the expense of being disobedient to His word. Why are so many atheists coming forward in these days? Is it because they haven’t been introduced to a God that loves them, or is it because they don’t want to believe so that they can do whatever they want while they are here on this earth? I can ask the same thing of some Christians, why are so many living such an earthly life? Is it because they have prayed the sinners prayer and now know that they can do whatever they want and they will be forgiven so they continue in the ways of the world conforming to society so they can fit in and not be hated?