Last night, my husband and I sat down to watch a new show together that we started watching earlier in the week. It had an interesting story line even if some of the elements were a bit ridiculous. However, it wasn't long into the show that we meet the town's minister. An ugly, drug-addicted man who, with the other town leaders, is participating in some unknown (but surely diabolical) scheme. To top it off, even while continuing in this, he often spouts little Christian phrases like "God bless you!" After several episodes, he goes crazy (following a "repentance"), flailing his Bible around while screaming to the town that they are sinners and God will judge them. Eventually this character is killed, and no one is sorry to see him go.
This is how we're seen, folks. Hypocritical. Selfish. Insane. Locked in a fantasy land that has no bearing in reality. Delusional. Judgmental. The list could go on.
My first reaction to this caricature was anger. It didn't seem fair. What about all the Christians all over the world who give and give and give? What about all the homeless shelters? Orphanages? Programs to rescue those in sex-trafficking? What about all the money we send to stop hunger both here and abroad?
The thing is it doesn't matter. The reason it doesn't matter is because we don't do these things to be seen. We do these things because they are issues that matter deeply to God. We do them because we are meant to love. And we are meant to love even when we are being attacked.
Yikes. It's absolutely frustrating to be misunderstood. But this week as we study Jesus's life leading up to Resurrection Sunday, it's hard to miss that most of Jesus's ministry was misunderstood. In fact, it was a steady stream of attacks and abuse culminating in his death. They twisted what he said. They mocked him. They attacked him physically. They tried to trick him.
Now, unlike him, we bring some of this condemnation on ourselves. Because--let's be honest with ourselves--we often are hypocritical, selfish, and judgmental (like ALL humans). And when we are called to account there should only be one response--confession and repentance.
However, what happens if we are attacked just because we are following Jesus? What happens when we don't deserve the criticism? The hatred? Here we must follow Jesus's example completely.
"When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly." 1 Peter 2:23
It is becoming increasingly unpopular to be Christian (or any religion for that matter). And our response to this change is an important part of our witness. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus discusses this.
“'Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[b] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.'" Matthew 5:11-14
First,note that Jesus said that when we are attacked on His account (not because of our stupidity) that we are blessed. This word (makarios) means happy, fortunate, to be envied (Strong's Concordance and Vine's Bible Dictionary). Jesus basically said that if people say hateful things about us because we are imitating Christ that this is a great thing. He then moves on to describe our purpose in this world: to be salt and to be light. I don't think it was an accident that teaching about being a witness and an influence in our world comes on the heels of a passage describing our persecution.
That's because being a witness and an influence aren't particularly popular things to be. When you look throughout history at the people who made the greatest contributions to our world, they were often treated horribly and faced intense opposition. But they didn't let that stop them. I think of great men like John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and many more. If we want to make this world a better place, if we want to stand up for life, for truth, for freedom--it will cost us.
Coming back to the text, let's discuss what Jesus is saying here. First, we are called to be salt. Salt was used as a preserver during that time. It kept things from spoiling. We are also called to be preservers. However, we must make sure that we are preserving is truly what needs preserving and not just our traditions.
Second, we are called to be light. Our job is shine our lights (by our good works) so that God will be glorified. There's a bit of a catch to this. First, lights shine brightest in the darkness. The darker our culture is the brighter our lights will shine. Second, the brighter our lights shine, the more noticeable we will become. And with that, we will attract attention we don't always want.
Are we ready for this? For a long time, the "Christian" culture of America didn't demand that we stand and be noticed for being different. But that is changing. In our country with broken families, with addictions to everything from technology to drugs, and with a mindset that there are no real consequences to choices, we must be different. We must do our good works (and not just the churches, but each individual believer). We must respond to criticism with love and patience. We must fight to protect rights for all people.
We need to be a people characterized by love, so that even when they criticize us (which they will) our own good works will speak as a testimony (1 Peter 2:12).
For some great resources about how to do this, check out the following books:
David Platt's Radical (focus on how to be an American Christian--absolutely awesome book)
Nik Ripken's Insanity of God (speaks about the testimony of the persecuted church and how we can handle it)
Francis Chan's Crazy Love (challenges believers to really understand God's love and to align ourselves with biblical Christianity)
