Big People, Little God Mentality
Listen to me, you who know right from wrong; you who cherish my law in your hearts. Do not be afraid of people’s scorn, nor fear their insults. I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? Yet you have forgotten the Lord, your Creator, the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies? Where is their fury and anger now? It is gone! For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely in my hand.
—Isaiah 51:7; 12-13; 15-16.
I originally read this passage a couple of weeks ago in search of an encouraging word for someone else, and to my amusement I find it ironic that during those following weeks I never truly realized that this passage was meant for me as much as it was meant for him.
I re-read this passage that I posted on his facebook wall, and in turn, God used my own advice to advise me. And here I am.
I’ve been struggling a lot lately with my “others”-mentality. Meaning, I’ve somewhat reverted to being the “people pleaser” Paul talks about in Galatians 1:10. I don’t know why I keep teeter-tottering with my mentalities, but I suppose it just proves how human I am and how ridiculous it is that I switch between Jesus and People on a constant basis. It’s tiring, yes it is.
It’s paining. It’s hurtful. It even sounds a bit elementary to want to gain the acceptance of everyone, but isn’t it fascinating how we carry this desire with us to full-term, running even into our adulthood? Everyone wants to be loved and accepted. Who wants to be hated?
I come to simple conclusions on a daily basis; things that should already probably be obvious to me, and things that are re-realized. I realized yesterday that people will straight up hate me because I call myself a Christian. Obvious enough, right? But I really, realized it. The funny thing is, if I called myself a Muslim, no one would give me problems. If I called myself a Catholic, no one would care. If I called myself a Buddhist, they might even rub their bellies, but they wouldn’t care. So I don’t know what it is with our society today, but Christians get the most discriminating beef over any other belief system in the world today. Christians have this sort of you’re-weird, Bible-thumping, holier-than-thou, trying-to-save-everyone stigma that really wears me thin, and constantly slaps me in the face.
I have to admit, although most times I let the grimey judgements slide over me and onto the ground, many times I just want to fit in with everyone. I want people to like me and enjoy being in my presence. Of course, there are those people out there who don’t judge me for who I am (it would be highly ignorant of me to put everyone in the same category as the group I’m referring to), but with my experience, professing to be a Christian is a bit like giving your social reputation a death sentence. Everyone automatically thinks you’re out to condemn them, convert them, and that you’re ready to rain down fire and brimstone, which isn’t exactly the kind of person you’re looking to party with.
And a common question new people ask is, “You go to college, right? What’s your major?” and I say, “Bible and Theology,” and it’s like a raised eyebrow and an awkward, “Oh, that’s interesting..” and I’m sad to say that some people just do not and will not try to get to know me after knowing I’m a Christian. I find it amusing how I find a common thread between myself and my fellow Bible school friends when it comes to this sort of thing. Bible school students literally have their lives wrapped up in Bible, God and Jesus, so it’s even more of a repellent to those who would rather not deal with any of the above, especially with people my age. I don’t really have a problem with older folk (they usually take it pretty well and comment on how unique it is for a ”young person” or “person of my age” to study their “religious beliefs”), but with the party-relativism generation that I was born into? It’s judgement to the max.
It’s sad, and it hurts. As much as I am strong, God made us humans in such a way that we thrive off of others and our relationships with others. Humans were not meant to live in solitary confinement. We want to be loved, and to give love. I don’t know about my other Brothers and Sisters out there, but it hurts to be rejected because of who I am in Jesus Christ. It really, really sucks and deals a heavy blow to my emotions.
All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
—Mark 13:13
I never resonated with what Jesus said in that verse, until recently. I remember growing up as a child and into my teen years, my Pastors and mentors would always tell everyone that the Devil targets even more so than others the men and women who are standing up to do a great work for Jesus Christ. It’s like the military game: you don’t usually aim to take out the soldiers (although they too, are assets to the war), you want to take out the leaders, because if you take out the leaders, ranks dissipate and chaos ensues. You want to take out the Commanders, the Lieutenants, the General, etc.
Now that I’ve stepped up to the plate and this calling on my life, I constantly feel the bullets hitting me. I’m like a walking target. I feel like crying sometimes with how much pressure and rejection I’ve faced; with how much oppression I recieve from the outside world.
It breaks me in half because I realize just how hard it is for people to really see Jesus Christ as their Saviour; as their Friend. The enemy made it not so that this world will reject the message of Christ first, but the messenger first. The enemy made it so that the Gospel is already repelled by the world through negative social stigma alone. How do you accept the message, if you don’t want to accept the messenger? And as a messenger, I find this incredibly discouraging and heartwrenching. I don’t understand how I’m supposed to introduce others to who Jesus is in my life, when there are many out there who already refuse to be a part of it because of Who dominates it.
It was Paul Washer who described the Gospel of Jesus Christ as “an impossible gospel”. I have an excerpt from his sermon which I really thought to be interesting:
The Apostle Paul’s flesh had every reason to be ashamed of the Gospel he preached because it contradicted absolutely everything that was held to be true and sacred among his contemporaries. Yet there is still another reason for fleshly shame: The Gospel is an absolutely impossible, unbelievable message; a ludicrous word to the wise of the world.
As Christians, we sometimes fail to realize how utterly astounding it is when anyone truly believes our message. In a sense, the Gospel is so farfetched that its spread throughout the Roman Empire is proof of its supernatural nature. What could ever bring a Gentile, completely unaware of Old Testament Scriptures and rooted in either Greek philosophy or pagan superstitions, to believe such a message about a man named Jesus?
He was born under questionable circumstances to a poor family in one of the most despised regions of the Roman Empire; and yet, the Gospel claims that he was the eternal Son of God who had been conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a Jewish virgin.
He was a carpenter by trade and an itinerant religious teacher with no official training; and yet, the Gospel claims that he surpassed the combined wisdom of every Greek philosopher and Roman sage of antiquity.
He was poor and had no place to lay his head; and yet, the Gospel claims that for three years he fed thousands by a word, healed every manner of illness among men, and even raised the dead.
He was crucified outside of Jerusalem as a blasphemer and an enemy of the state; and yet, the Gospel claims that his death was the pivotal event in all of human history and the only means of salvation from sin and reconciliation to God.
He was placed in a borrowed tomb; and yet, the Gospel claims that on the third day he rose from the dead and presented himself to many of his followers. Forty days later, he ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Thus, the Gospel claims that a poor Jewish carpenter, who was rejected as a lunatic and a blasphemer by his own people and crucified by the state, is now the Savior of the World, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. At his name, every knee, including Caesar’s, will bow.
Who could have ever believed such a message except by the power of God? There is no other explanation. The Gospel would have never made its way out of Jerusalem, let alone, beyond the Roman Empire and into every nation of the world, except that God had ordained to work through it. The message would have died at its birth had it depended upon the organizational abilities, eloquence, or apologetic powers of its preachers. All the missionary strategies in the world and all the clever marketing schemes borrowed from Wall Street could have never advanced this foolish, stumbling block of a message.
It is definitely a mind-blowing Gospel! Who would truly believe in Christ, if it were not for the grace of God? If God Himself didn’t open up our eyes to see the truth, no one would see the truth! And although many times I get discouraged because I’m up against a powerful enemy with the world’s powers at his disposal, I snap back and remember that I serve the God of the Universe, the King of Kings and the one whose name is Lord of Heaven’s Armies. If I was doing this alone, then I would have something to be afraid of. But the amazing thing about all of this is that I’m not alone. I serve a God who turns hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. The Devil just manipulates the flesh.
Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world.—1 John 4:4
I never really understood what the Bible said about having joy in suffering, or how it is a privilege and an honor to suffer for Christ—that Christ found you worthy enough to suffer for Him—until today.
His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
—Acts 5:40-41
No matter what people will say about me, I need to remember who I serve. Sometimes I get so discouraged by the insults and the haughty looks and the quiet rejections that I get distracted from my King. See, right now I feel so much peace just writing about my hurts and realizations, and it’s all because I focus it back on Jesus. But when I begin to worry about my reputation with others and when I begin to people-please, I lose myself and I lose my mind. My sanity goes fast, and I grasp at acceptance. I know one day, God will use me for something he planned for me long ago. People will reject me and insult me until the day I die, because that is the life we as Christians were promised. But I was also promised a life to the fullest; a life after this temporary life, and I need to remember that although there are those who will reject me, there are those out there who will be curious and intrigued, and who will be willing to hear about and understand this “Jesus” that I know. It is for these people and for my hope in their future relationship with Him that I will continue to be strong and to be different. I’m excited for the days I will be able to deliver my message. I will not relent or change who I am just to relieve myself of my uncomfortable social stigma for a moment. I love this verse:
“Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies? Where is their fury and anger now? It is gone! For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely in my hand.”
Dear God, thank you so much for watching over me, for knowing me. You understand me like no one else does, and you were powerful enough to put your comfort in a book thousands of years ago, in preparation for my reading of it this very day. You understand my need for acceptance, and you reassure me that although the world will hate me, you keep me safe and you keep me in the palm of your hand. You show me that fearing what others think of me fades in comparison to what you think of me, and I know you are proud of me and who I am becoming. Although I get overwhelmed many times, I thank you for taking my yolk and my burdens off of me and onto yourself. Please keep my mind on you, seize me when I fall astray, which is often. I love you so much Lord, and I mean that with all of my entire being. I’m so sorry for taking my desires off of you and onto man, thank you for your love and acceptance.
To all of my Brothers and Sisters out there struggling with the same thing, stay strong. Keep your mind off of the people, and put your mind back onto God. Talk with other Christians often so that you know what the standard is. I know from experience that when we fall out of fellowship with others, we forget what our Purpose is and Who we’re trying to please. Message me on facebook if you need prayer please, I believe one of the first steps in overcoming anything is to be open about it! I put my stuff out on tumblr, and it keeps me accountable to those who read it :)
All the praise and the glory goes to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, and our Friend.
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