“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16, NRSV)
Being a Christian in an unchristian world has its dangers and vulnerabilities. Your friends and family may think you are a religious nut. People may assume you are bigoted or hateful. Some may be convinced you are judgmental. Many will conclude that you are neither reasonable nor rational. That is how things were in New Testament times for early Christians. It is the same today in places where religious people are frowned upon by a group or society.
You may experience unchristian attitudes even among people in your church. Though baptized or members, they might be as worldly as atheists or as self-righteous as the Biblical Pharisees. Just because a person attends worship does not mean he or she is right with God. Though a church may have a sign proclaiming they are the “Church of Christ”, this doesn’t mean that they follow Jesus’ teachings. They may give lip service to the gospel. They may be more a social clique than a faithful people. In a church that is plagued by shallow or worldly Christians, the reactions can be severe for someone who wants to do the right thing or be passionate about the faith.
I remember the story of a woman who was praying during mass in a Roman Catholic Church. She made the mistake of raising her hands while she prayed as a show of respect for God. Immediately after worship, an usher chastised her saying, “We don’t do that kind of praying here.” When the world beats you up for being faithful, you might think twice about openly and honestly practicing your faith. When worldly christians treat you poorly despite doing what God wills, it might cause you to “hide God’s light in you under a bushel” for fear of offending others (Matthew 5:15). The same pressures to conform to worldly religion were present in New Testament times as much as today. Don’t do it! Don’t bow down to worldly religious practices! Live a genuine life of faith, committed to God no matter what others say.
“Have you ever heard of the spiritual disease which people in medieval times called accidie? It is something that threatens all Christian workers after the first flush of enthusiasm has worn off. It's a form of sloth but not at the physical level. It is apathy of the soul. It shows in a certain toughness of mind and wariness of spirit which often results from hurt and disillusionment.
People with accidie in this sense have grown cynical about ideals, enthusiasms, and strong hopes. They look pityingly at young people and say, "They'll learn," taking it for granted that when they've learned, they'll become tough inside too. Once upon a time these leather-souled people were keen, hopeful, and expectant. But nothing happened, or they got hurt, and now they protect themselves against pain by adopting cynical, world-weary attitudes.
If these people are ministers of churches, they work mechanically, merely going through the motions because their light has really gone out and they're no longer expecting anything exciting to happen. They feel that they know from experience that exciting things don't happen, and that's an end of it. So they merely plod on, expecting nothing and receiving nothing.
But the Lord does not send us out on his work in order that nothing may happen. His word is intended to have impact; it's sent out to accomplish something. We ought never to settle for a non-expectant, defeated attitude. Rather we should be asking and expecting great things from God.” (James Packer, Your Father Loves You, p. 10)
Jesus warned the disciples about people who would attack the faithful. To prevent some of the persecution or suffering, He urged His followers to “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). By being upright and just and careful, He hoped the disciples would be able to avoid much suffering. Jesus knew, however, that every single one of us is liable to be attacked for our faithfulness. As He said in Matthew 10, “I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves…”. Being truly faithful is dangerous. It will cause you to stand up to injustice and stick out of the crowd. Even though faithful people will be attacked and ridiculed and silenced and mocked and martyred, Jesus still wanted the disciples to keep being passionate, to keep reaching out, to keep sharing the gospel, to remain a shining beacon of truth to all the world.
When worldly people inside and outside the church weigh you down, just realize that this is proof of your true faith. Jesus was not persecuted for false beliefs or worldly views. He was persecuted for His righteousness. Satan doesn’t go after those who are shallow of faith and worldly in attitude. He goes after the truly faithful. If you find yourself an outsider because of your true faith, join the ranks of the true Christian! We won’t give up and won’t give in to worldliness. We have dedicated ourselves to Jesus Christ, THE LORD, no matter the dangers.
You may experience unchristian attitudes even among people in your church. Though baptized or members, they might be as worldly as atheists or as self-righteous as the Biblical Pharisees. Just because a person attends worship does not mean he or she is right with God. Though a church may have a sign proclaiming they are the “Church of Christ”, this doesn’t mean that they follow Jesus’ teachings. They may give lip service to the gospel. They may be more a social clique than a faithful people. In a church that is plagued by shallow or worldly Christians, the reactions can be severe for someone who wants to do the right thing or be passionate about the faith.
I remember the story of a woman who was praying during mass in a Roman Catholic Church. She made the mistake of raising her hands while she prayed as a show of respect for God. Immediately after worship, an usher chastised her saying, “We don’t do that kind of praying here.” When the world beats you up for being faithful, you might think twice about openly and honestly practicing your faith. When worldly christians treat you poorly despite doing what God wills, it might cause you to “hide God’s light in you under a bushel” for fear of offending others (Matthew 5:15). The same pressures to conform to worldly religion were present in New Testament times as much as today. Don’t do it! Don’t bow down to worldly religious practices! Live a genuine life of faith, committed to God no matter what others say.
“Have you ever heard of the spiritual disease which people in medieval times called accidie? It is something that threatens all Christian workers after the first flush of enthusiasm has worn off. It's a form of sloth but not at the physical level. It is apathy of the soul. It shows in a certain toughness of mind and wariness of spirit which often results from hurt and disillusionment.
People with accidie in this sense have grown cynical about ideals, enthusiasms, and strong hopes. They look pityingly at young people and say, "They'll learn," taking it for granted that when they've learned, they'll become tough inside too. Once upon a time these leather-souled people were keen, hopeful, and expectant. But nothing happened, or they got hurt, and now they protect themselves against pain by adopting cynical, world-weary attitudes.
If these people are ministers of churches, they work mechanically, merely going through the motions because their light has really gone out and they're no longer expecting anything exciting to happen. They feel that they know from experience that exciting things don't happen, and that's an end of it. So they merely plod on, expecting nothing and receiving nothing.
But the Lord does not send us out on his work in order that nothing may happen. His word is intended to have impact; it's sent out to accomplish something. We ought never to settle for a non-expectant, defeated attitude. Rather we should be asking and expecting great things from God.” (James Packer, Your Father Loves You, p. 10)
Jesus warned the disciples about people who would attack the faithful. To prevent some of the persecution or suffering, He urged His followers to “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). By being upright and just and careful, He hoped the disciples would be able to avoid much suffering. Jesus knew, however, that every single one of us is liable to be attacked for our faithfulness. As He said in Matthew 10, “I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves…”. Being truly faithful is dangerous. It will cause you to stand up to injustice and stick out of the crowd. Even though faithful people will be attacked and ridiculed and silenced and mocked and martyred, Jesus still wanted the disciples to keep being passionate, to keep reaching out, to keep sharing the gospel, to remain a shining beacon of truth to all the world.
When worldly people inside and outside the church weigh you down, just realize that this is proof of your true faith. Jesus was not persecuted for false beliefs or worldly views. He was persecuted for His righteousness. Satan doesn’t go after those who are shallow of faith and worldly in attitude. He goes after the truly faithful. If you find yourself an outsider because of your true faith, join the ranks of the true Christian! We won’t give up and won’t give in to worldliness. We have dedicated ourselves to Jesus Christ, THE LORD, no matter the dangers.