Being Hated

My wife and oldest daughter were out grocery shopping recently, and they had a surprising experience. I need first to describe both of them so that there is some context. They both have long hair and usually wear "conservative" skirts. Both wear a light amount of makeup. They do not wear Amish hair bonnets, nor was the pattern of their clothes single-tone solid colors.

With that said, here is what happened. They were putting the groceries in the back of our minivan, and a car drove by behind them. The passenger side window rolled down about an inch and a girl yelled out "the pilgrim days are over!" Besides the historical non-sequitur (you cannot expect much from government sponsored education these days), we can grasp her point. Whether pressured by the driver, or done by her own choice, she was expressing a deep distaste that someone in the world refused to dress like a fashion model.

It hurt my daughter, not because she was embarrassed by her purity, but rather because someone would be so hateful as to want to cause sadness in a young woman who chose not to obey the gods of Hollywood. This pitiful woman did not know anything at all about our lives or our beliefs (and if she "judged a book by its cover" she was quite far off the mark). She had no knowledge of who we are as people, and so I suspect that her bellowing stemmed from an insecure sense of self. She was likely threatened by the simple and traditional look of purity and had to lash out at it in order to make herself feel better.

Face it, the world hates us, and is always looking for another opportunity to tell us so. The fact that my wife and daughter refused to wear skin-tight jeans, expose their midriff to every passerby, and paint their faces like it was a layer of Glidden Spread Satin, is certainly a just cause in the minds of those who are deceived by the modern abandonment of Christian ethics. What is even more remarkable is that there are loads of Plymouth Brethren (in case you do not know the look: think "Amish-lite") in the area where we live and my ladies look nothing like them. In fact the Amish types would consider us worldly (I listen to rock music!).

The world is threatened by truth, beauty and goodness. It hates these things and seeks to destroy them, but when it cannot do so easily, it seeks to ridicule. Ridiculing something can weaken the faith of those who are already weak, but it never actually destroys the thing itself. The primary accomplishment for the one doing the ridiculing is that it makes him feel better about himself. It is nothing more than an excuse to reject something that is only convincing to those who already wish to reject it. As the world seeks after lies, ugliness, and sin, this becomes more and more the response given to us. Mockery, ridicule, and insults. It deepens them in their sin, but it is a gift to us. For those persecuted for righteousness sake are blessed by God.

As we become more and more a contrast to the world, we should expect, more and more, this type of hatred and persecution. This means that we need to prepare ourselves to be challenged. We need to strengthen our faith, and stand that much more firm against sin, the world, and the devil. If, on the other hand, we look and behave so like the world that they think we are one of them, then we are the ones in danger; in danger of denying our Lord when the trial comes upon us. Time for faithfulness; time for diligence; time to stand true to our Lord and Savior.