Haters

Scripture: Nehemiah 4:1-23

“To a truly envious human being, the success or blessing of another – particularly a rival, and most particularly a close rival – is an affront, a kind of assault . . . Envy, like the pride that spawns it, is inevitably comparative. The envier wants to tear down a competitor because “he hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly.” The core of envy is the desire to cut somebody down to size, to change the basis of comparison with oneself, to hamstring rivals so that they have to drop out of the race in whatever competition the envier cares about.”

Cornelius Plantinga

“Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.”

1 John 3: 13

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

1 Peter 2: 21-25