"Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."
Luke 6:22-23
It can be discouraging when people are biased against you because you are religious, or specifically Mormon... or really, for any reason. :) Luckily, if it is a good reason like believing in and having a relationship with God, or appreciating and honoring what Christ did for all of us, God tells us to rejoice, and leap for joy. :) Might seem like a bizarre reaction to being persecuted or hated, but other than totally disconcerting whoever is being cruel to you, it also makes some sense. If people are getting mad at us for loving God, then that means... we love him, and we're being good examples, and God compares us to the prophets who were similarly persecuted. :) ... I don't think it means that we should intentionally go out and make people mad. That would also be frowned upon in the Gospel. But if we're doing good and getting slammed for it, there is no reason to be upset or down about it. Not everyone is going to understand or accept us, no matter what we believe. But getting treated badly for doing good is way better than getting treated badly for doing bad stuff. This way, no guilt, no need to change our thoughts, desires, or actions... and we're absolutely cool with God. Those are the important things. Some people will always be mad about something, or find something to hate us for. Just a bonus when it is something we love about ourselves, so we can be happy about the state of our souls instead of sad. God is amazing... and no amount of hate can take that away. :) Today... let's leap. Let's rejoice in what we believe and know to be true.
Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."
Luke 6:22-23
It can be discouraging when people are biased against you because you are religious, or specifically Mormon... or really, for any reason. :) Luckily, if it is a good reason like believing in and having a relationship with God, or appreciating and honoring what Christ did for all of us, God tells us to rejoice, and leap for joy. :) Might seem like a bizarre reaction to being persecuted or hated, but other than totally disconcerting whoever is being cruel to you, it also makes some sense. If people are getting mad at us for loving God, then that means... we love him, and we're being good examples, and God compares us to the prophets who were similarly persecuted. :) ... I don't think it means that we should intentionally go out and make people mad. That would also be frowned upon in the Gospel. But if we're doing good and getting slammed for it, there is no reason to be upset or down about it. Not everyone is going to understand or accept us, no matter what we believe. But getting treated badly for doing good is way better than getting treated badly for doing bad stuff. This way, no guilt, no need to change our thoughts, desires, or actions... and we're absolutely cool with God. Those are the important things. Some people will always be mad about something, or find something to hate us for. Just a bonus when it is something we love about ourselves, so we can be happy about the state of our souls instead of sad. God is amazing... and no amount of hate can take that away. :) Today... let's leap. Let's rejoice in what we believe and know to be true.
No comments:
Post a Comment