In our society today we all want to be popular. Nobody wants to be disliked or thought of negatively. But for the Christian, I contend, that there is great joy and even great blessings to being unpopular; if it is for the right reasons.
Pastor John MacArthur states the case well: “The man of God is thrilled to be a soldier. It is not that he goes out of his way to antagonize people and make enemies, but he is willing to fight the battle for truth. It is greatly disturbing to live in a time when battling for truth is looked upon as divisive and unloving. Far too many in the church today are willing to compromise theologically to avoid conflict, forgetting Jude’s exhortation to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3).”1
And to this admonition the Scriptures add: “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12).
As Christians are goal should never be to be popular at the expense of compromising the truth of the gospel. Jesus, because of his message of the need to repent of sin and come to Him by faith, clearly among many was not popular. His stance for truth made Him public enemy number one among many of the religious leaders of His time. And we should expect no difference of a response from many people today when we share the gospel and stand up for the truth that Jesus is “the only way” of salvation.
But there is good news! When we share the gospel and stand for biblical truth several amazing things take place. First, we will be popular with God. And that, to me, is the greatest joy and blessing, knowing that our God and Savior is pleased with us. Second, based on (Matthew 5:11-12) we are accruing great rewards in heaven. Yes, we may have to endure temporary persecution and suffering for a little while, but the eternal rewards will far outweigh this momentary discomfort. Third, as we live authentic and uncompromising lives for Jesus, many people will respect us for being genuine and be willing to ask us what makes us so different and full of joy. And fourth, as we share the gospel and stand up for Jesus, some will even give their hearts to the Lord – and there can be nothing more joyous than this.
Being popular with man is nice but there can be nothing that can compare with being popular with Jesus. When we are sold out for Jesus, yes we will often be unpopular with man, but knowing that we are popular with God, accruing great eternal rewards, gaining the respect of many, and seeing some give their heart to the Lord will fill us with great joy. And in my book living the joyous Christian life trumps being popular with man every time!
Thank you for this important post.
I struggle with codependency and the prideful, controlling, people-pleasinng tendencies that accompany it. In July of 2021, I wrote the following in my daily declaration to help me overcome this character flaw.
“Your Word says, ‘Whatever I bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever is loosed on earth will be loosed in Heaven.’ (Matthew 18:18). So I say: All fear of man and Satan are bound (Psalm 46:1-2a). Godly fear is loosed in my mind and soul. I only fear You, who can destroy both body and soul (Matthew 10:28). I have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16b). In order to stop being a sinful people pleaser, I declare that I will set my mind on becoming the kind of person who seeks to please You first and foremost, and to please mankind only as a fruit of my intense desire to please You.”
Please pray for victory in this for me. I am getting better, but am not completely there yet.