John 15:17-21 “These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.”
Romans 1:21-22 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”
Matthew 5:13 “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
I Peter 2:9-10 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”
I Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”
Shocking many in 1996, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia boldly stated the following: “Devout Christians are destined to be regarded as fools in modern society.” His prescient words may have not resonated with the Christian community back then, but they powerfully hit home today. It was a counter-cultural message that wisely foresaw the counter-cultural nature of Christianity in today’s American society. In a single generation, so many things have changed.
While today’s situation wouldn’t likely shock Scalia, it certainly wouldn’t surprise our Saviour. In every society, He forecast our distinction and forewarned our distress.
The world hated Christ before it hated you and me. It persecuted Him, and it is poised to persecute us. It is blinded by darkness and is consumed by its own foolishness. It doesn’t know Him, and is overwhelmed by its own vain imaginations. It fosters wretchedness and pursues misery with evangelistic fervor. What are we to do in this world that regards us as fools?
We are to praise Him. We are to maintain our salty savour. We are to reflect His glorious illumination and lift high the candlestick of His darkness-piercing light. We are to embrace our counter-cultural peculiarity and liberally share the reason of the hope that is in us. And, we are to love one another as fellow citizens in a world that rejects us because it rejects our God.
PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD RESPOND TO A SOCIETY THAT CONSIDERS US FOOLS BY BEING THE SALT AND LIGHT THAT PROVIDES A STARK DISTINCTION TO THE PREVAILING BLANDNESS AND DARKNESS. Being regarded as fools by a secular society should be seen as a badge of honor and an opportunity for engagement.
