Jesus said that we should not be surprised if the world hates us when we follow Him, because it hated Him (John 15:18-21; 16:1-4; Matthew 10:16-22). However, sometimes Christians, especially in safe places like the United States, can get the idea that we can follow Christ and expect those around us to respect us and applaud us. But Scripture does not encourage us in this. Now if we have come to expect this, when we do not meet it we can overreact. Instead of speaking the truth in love as we should (Ephesians 4:15; 2 Timothy 2:23-26; 1 Peter 3:15), we can react in anger and vitriol. Or we can compromise our principles in a desperate to get people to agree with us, and thereby disobey God (Galatians 1:10; Proverbs 29:25; Romans 12:2). Therefore, we need to avoid false expectations so that we may respond to those who oppose us with the proper firmness and love.
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