Being hated

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It more or less occurs to me that for a significant part of my life, I am being hated for reasons or whatsoever, whether for the right reasons or wrong reasons. It even seems that it is possible to be hated in church for just doing the things you are supposed to do and being who you really are. My question to myself remains whether I should try my best not to get hated too much around or not.

In some sense, I am the archetypal Christian. I don't do things conventionally as people would normally suppose in church, and I like to challenge practices that are not exactly stated clear in the bible. And I am not exactly the nicest guy to work with, for those who have worked closely with me before. I am not of the view that a Christian should be nice, thus I am okay to be ruthless in my dealing with people whenever I deemed fit. One example would be the mission camp I organised last year. I remember I made a stand that all late payers will pay the late fees when one of my committee members told me that Christians should be nice, to which I strongly argued against. One thing for me, the bible never commanded us to be nice. It is this latter point which generally gets me into trouble cos it is easy to be perceived as not being gentle and understanding and being insensitive etc. Negative superlatives that have been used to describe me over the years from people in church can include 'egoistic', 'proud', 'boastful', 'not gentle', 'faithless', 'bombastic' etc.

I am making this note to remind myself that no matter what I do, I cannot perceive how people view me and my deeds. I do not need to defend myself in all these things and I guess my self-security is strong enough not to be affected by negative superlatives that have been used to describe me. It doesn't necessarily mean that there is no fact in some of the descriptors and there are certainly areas in my life that I need to continue to grow. Yet, continually reminding myself also that at least I am not hated by the ones who matter.

Comments

  1. yeu@nn2:58 PM

    *nods* And I can testify that though many misunderstand you as proud. And that you've grown a lot in gentleness and understanding over the years - and this testimony coming from someone as insecure and thin-skinned as me... I think it has to count for something, doesn't it? HAHA

    :) That's the funny thing. And the little acts of care and concern that you show for those around you.

    Because I see how fast you are to explain and hold no grudges, and are willing to listen and understand, even when you say things that sometimes makes me go "wah lau". Haha. But that's the more important thing: God's work in you, and what I can sense through the Spirit.

    Men can't but help look at the outward appearances, but God looks at the heart. And I'm grateful God allowed me to see your heart through His eyes, even if it's a very short-sighted pair of eyes I have.

    :) Well, many will look at the outward appearances, but take heart, dear bro, continue to imitate Christ and to inspire others to follow in His steps. After all, Jesus was no namby-pamby - He BBQed the religious leaders, but was tender and compassionate with the hurting and needy. I can discern many people who look gentle on the outside, but inwardly they have a lot of pride.

    I wish I had your self-security as you have, but hey, each has his gift from God. And so I believe God gives you the strength to thrive in certain areas that few others can survive in. Sorta like a tank, I guess. HAHA

    But you, as I've said before, you're like a durian. Tough on the outside, and tender on the inside. Be God's durian. They don't call it the king of fruits for nothing. :D

    Jiayou bro, for Jesus! And yes, you're more than not hated - you're loved by those who matter... =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. yeu@nn2:59 PM

    And oh yes, blessed are you when men hate you and all that stuff because you choose to stand up for Jesus. =)

    ReplyDelete

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