Summary
It can be tempting to choose the lies of the world over the truth of God because choosing the truth of God makes the world hate us. If we do not look with eyes of faith, it can be easy to only see what we imagine we are losing, without keeping our eyes fixed on the eternal things we are gaining. For the former is right before our eyes, while the latter is veiled from our sight.
Content
Do you wish to be popular? To be accepted? To not face ridicule and scorn?
Then being a Christian is probably not for you. Compare John 15:18-20.
Because God has temporarily allowed Satan to manipulate and control the systems of this world in order to test humanity, we are very much in “enemy territory”. This world is not our home (at least it is not supposed to be); we are merely sojourners here.
Governments, media, corporations, nonprofit organizations, even culture itself—all largely dance to Satan’s tune, not God’s. And so it is that we Christians tend to find ourselves faced with the choice of either falling into line and conforming, or sticking out and facing the consequences of such.
Perhaps we may not go so far as unbelievers in rejecting the entire truth of God for the lies of the world, but we might still compromise ourselves in smaller ways (by, for example, being too cowardly to speak up when we ought to). And we do it for the same reasons that unbelievers choose not to believe to begin with—because going along with the world will make the world love us, while standing against it (even if we have the truth, not it) will only make it hate us.
When we are tempted to make peace with that which we ought not just to gain the approval of others, consider who it is that is on the other side of the scale. Why in the world would we weigh the opinions of some human being(s)—fellow sinners all—higher than the opinion of our Eternal, All-powerful God, He who “can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28)?! It makes no sense whatsoever, viewed in this light.
But the temptation will always be there, because only those who lose their lives will find them (cf. Matthew 16:25-26), and unless we take the greatest pains to continually look with eyes of faith, this prospect of “losing our life” (whatever we have down here in this world of lust, rust, and dust) will make us cowardly from time to time—whereas we ought to instead always be bold for the truth.