Creator, Father, King #341

Don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

ON FEBRUARY 7, 1964, Pan Am flight 101 from London landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. Out stepped four young British musicians wearing mod suits and mop-top haircuts, instantly launching a pop-culture phenomenon that the world has never experienced since.

An estimated three thousand screaming fans were there to welcome the Beatles. Two days later, the band members—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—performed on the Ed Sullivan Show before an estimated 73 million US television viewers, roughly 40 percent of the US population at the time.

“Beatlemania” had been born. The group would ultimately record a dozen-plus top-selling studio albums and a record twenty-one number-one singles on the “Billboard Hot 100” list before breaking up in 1970.

What’s It Mean?

Popularity is a funny thing. For every wildly successful band like the Beatles, there are thousands that we never hear about.

Popularity isn’t inherently a bad thing, but as Christians, it should never be our ultimate goal. Our main priority should be worshiping God and becoming more like Jesus.

What is popularity anyway? It’s being liked or supported by others. It’s the approval of man. If you are popular, you need to ask yourself, “Who am I popular with?” and “What am I popular for?” The answers might reveal a lot.

As today’s verse says, followers of Christ should actually expect to be unpopular and hated by “the world”—sinful humanity that rejects God. If you fit in perfectly with the world, something is wrong. It likely means your faith isn’t evident and you are undistinguishable from unbelievers.

When the apostle John wrote today’s verse (likely around AD 85), he must have remembered Jesus’ words shortly before his arrest in Gethsemane: “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” Those words affected John so deeply, he recorded them in his gospel fifty years later (John 15:18-19).

Jesus’ words should also affect us. Don’t run after worldly popularity. Be different from the world and follow Christ. And if you experience rejection for your faith, just remember, your Savior did too.

Now What?

Prayerfully evaluate if you are popular with the world or following Christ. Also consider asking a trusted adult or friend if you’re chasing worldly popularity.

Did You Know?

After finishing his prearrest discourse, Jesus prayed for his disciples—and you! (See John 17:20-21.)