I think that many people from time to time get the feeling that the world is out to get them. Maybe they feel like they are always fighting against one thing or another. Well it might be worthwhile to ask, “Does The World Hate You?”
I must confess that I cannot possibly answer this question for everyone. I can only answer it for those who are Christians. When Jesus Christ was teaching his disciples, he was preparing them for the response of the world to anyone who would choose to serve God.
John 15:18, 19 – 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.
So first of all, if you feel this way, you are in good company – the world hated Jesus Christ too. In fact he stated that the world hated him without a cause. They had no good reason to hate him. After all, what did he do – he walked with God, loved and delivered people. The hatred was a spiritual hatred without any good reason. The world will hate you for the same reason it hated him – he was not of the world. When you become a Christian, you take yourself out of the world – obviously not physically but in that you are no longer interested in the issues that the world is interested in. The shine and glitter of the fashions of the world has no attraction anymore.
Paul the Apostle stated it this way,
Galatians 6:14 – But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Because of his acceptance of Jesus Christ as his lord, the world was dead to him. It no longer held any attraction, the desires of world were no longer his desire. The things considered important by the world were no longer important to him. Interestingly enough, this went both ways. As far as the world was concerned, he was dead as well.
In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul wrote, “ Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Those who try to live a godly life invariably come up against the leadings of the world and they are at cross purposes to the ways of God. God did not make it that way – that is just the way it has become.
I John 2:16 – For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The sort of things that interest the world are to have no attraction for the Christian. By the work of redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, we are dead to the world and it is dead to us. So to answer the question, “Does the World Hate You?” – yes indeed it does. So don’t feel bad if it doesn’t feel like home – it simply isn’t anymore.
And if you are not a Christian and want a piece of the world’s hate, I highly encourage you to make Jesus your lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. Check out our videos on how to get saved at bibleharbor.com – I warn you, however, it’s a sure fire way to get a target on your back.
Let me leave you with Jesus Christ’s suggested response to the world’s hate:
Matthew 5:44 – But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
Respond to the world’s hate with the love of God. It never fails.