How to live joyfully in a world that hates you

There are two kinds of joy I experienced in life.  First, is the cheap joy which occurs when I satisfy something from my flesh or soul; like buying a favorite item.   Or, there’s the deep joy when my spirit is at rest with God amidst a world that hates you.  Just how do we get there?  Here’s what I discovered.

I learned there are three things I need to be psychologically healthy; Security, Trust, and Love.  If any of these life foundations are broken or missing, then I will experience wounds in my heart.  My heart will become hardened and cutoff from love.   Because of the anger and resentment within me I will be blinded to my own self-destructive behavior.  No longer a whole person, I will become dysfunctional; unable to receive nor give love.

In today’s scripture reading, Jesus states the following;

“Just remember, when the unbelieving world hates you, they first hated me. If you were to give your allegiance to the world, they would love and welcome you as one of their own. But because you won’t align yourself with the values of this world, they will hate you. I have chosen you and taken you out of the world to be mine.” John 15: 18

This is tough medicine.  I have a natural need to be liked and accepted by everyone.  Rejection is painful.  So, if I need security, love, and trust, how does one live in this world with a healthy state of mind?  Who wants to live in a place where people hate you?

For myself, the key is knowing that my sense of value and love comes from God; not the world.  Since the world and its people are imperfect how can I expect perfect love to come from imperfect people?  That’s crazy talk! Imperfect people have wounded hearts filled with pride, anger, self-centeredness, and unforgiveness. On the other hand, God is perfect, and I can expect perfect love from Him. Isn’t that healthy talk?  

I must remember that I am spirit, soul and body.  My relationship with God is spirit-to-spirit; not soul to spirit.  It’s the same way as when two people live in union with their hearts who know each other intimately without the need of a conversation. Therefore, my spirit leads my soul and body; not the other way around.  Jesus once said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. John 6:63

I learned the love of God the Father and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is a creative, life-giving love that produces immeasurable joy and lasting friendship for all who accept it. God loves the world so much because he created it to reflect his glory. And he created each one of us in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). He wants us to be united with himself in an inseparable bond of unity, peace, and joy that endures for all eternity.

Jesus goes on to say; “I love each of you with the same love that the Father loves me. You must continually let my love nourish your hearts. If you keep my commands, you will live in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands, for I continually live nourished and empowered by his love.” John 15: 9-10 

Therefore, to live a joyful life in a hostile place filled with imperfect people, I must allow my spirit to be in union with God’s spirit.  By having God’s love nourish and empower me, I can receive the love, trust, and security, to live in a toxic environment. I know God protects me and I can trust him eternally with my life and spirit. Like all successful people, I must put first things first, and that is to acknowledge God in all things and to be immersed in his word.  His word and truth will guide me in all things.  By knowing and experiencing my spiritual intimacy with the Lord, I can live joyfully in a world that hates you.

Acceptance and Rejection

“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.” – Jesus Christ, to his disciples

The world hates me?  Ouch!  That hurts!

Never having seen a study on the topic, I would venture to guess that the primary reason believers do not share with others the full and abundant life they’ve found in Jesus Christ is their fear of rejection.  Let’s be honest: people’s opinions affect us.  So much so that we become what we aren’t in order to gain acceptance, and we hide who we are to avoid rejection and humiliation.  And in so doing, we recklessly hand over to others the power to define our identity; we invite them to determine who we must be, what we must say and how we must act.

True confession.  For years, I was partially muted by my need for the approval of – and inclusion by – others.  Like the wicked servant in the parable of the talents, I hid the good news of Jesus in the ground and was on course to hand it back to the Master unscathed ... and uninvested. 

But literally by the grace of God, that changed.  One day I decided to carve out some time each morning to read Scripture and then to record the thoughts it provoked in me and to respond in prayer.  In a matter of a few short weeks, I sensed God’s closeness like never before!  His presence was no less real than if he had assumed bodily form and sat across the table.  And he opened my eyes to new wonders and insights that had eluded me all my life.

As we met for our daily conversation – his word and my response – his unconditional love for me was overcoming my need for the conditional approval of others.  If the God of the universe, who knew everything about me, was yet eager to meet with me and teach me new things, how could I more highly treasure anything less?  God was showing me the truth of my identity in him and emancipating me from the dictates of others.

I’m not sure how, but I started to view people differently – fellow travelers with me on our brief journey this side of eternity.  I began to long for them to find what I had found – that Jesus was real and that, in him, we could find light and life, abundant and eternal.  And rather than seeking their acceptance, it became important to me to show them mine.  Just as Jesus had shown me his.

This was all God’s doing.  Every last bit of it.  And he still has much work to do in me.  But I share this as a message of hope.  We need not assume a faux identity to meet the demands of people; Christ is our life, for he has made us one with him.  We need not bury the gospel in fear; we can freely proclaim it as the power of God for salvation.

Will we be hated?  Yes, by people who want us to be what they think we should be. 
Will we be loved?  Yes, by the God who has made us one with him.

[Click here to see the daily devotional in John 15:18 – 6:4.] 

Rejected!

“Every Sabbath, [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads!  I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’” Acts 18:4-6

Under the sovereignty of God, there is something remarkable about rejection: it exposes our entrapment in the opinions and acceptance of others as a faux snare from which we have always been free; indeed, it would have been best for all – both captive and captors – if, in the strength of truth, we had commenced from its deception long ago.

Confession: For most of my life, I allowed a desire for the acceptance of others to unduly influence my decisions. Regrettably, this character weakness tempered to some extent my service to Jesus, even though this Son of God, himself, suffered rejection to the point of death for my sin!  Imagine my dismay, though, when a few years ago I suffered a type of rejection from some whose acceptance I had sought. It hurt!  Badly!  But I can tell you now that, not only did Jesus very closely embrace and guide me through that experience, he used it to open my eyes to the false trap of conditional acceptance. I actually am grateful now for that experience, for I found in it a freedom to which, until then, I had been blinded.

While I let the opinions of others stymie my freedom in Christ, Paul exercised his freedom to speak the truth of Christ. In the City of Corinth, he modeled for all of us a confidence that can be ours in the face of rejection ...

Paul persevered. Every Sabbath, every Sabbath, every Sabbath ... Paul tried and tried and tried to persuade the Jews and Greeks that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Despite constant rejection, Paul yet persevered.

Paul doubled down. When Silas and Timothy came to town, Paul then “devoted himself exclusively” to preaching and testifying about Jesus. Not only did he persevere, he increased his focus and effort.

Paul was practical. There is an entire world full of people open to God's love and his Way to salvation for them. Rather than dilute his efforts among the Jews who had intensified in their rejection of the gospel, Paul directed his attention exclusively to the Corinthian Gentiles, among whom there was much spiritual harvest and immediate spiritual fruit.

Living in the gracious and eternal approval of Christ far surpasses the conditional and temporal nature of worldly acceptance. And when others reject us, his close presence becomes even clearer to us.

The snare of acceptance? It's an illusion. You’re free. Walk away.

Jesus goes with you. Always.