day no. 16,498: the urgent call for Christian cussedness; a.k.a. being a better byword

Christians are called all kinds of names. In fact, even the name "Christian" was itself a name the disciples of Jesus were once called by others.

Acts 11:26

And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

Jesus predicted this peculiar brand of blessing.

Matthew 5:11-12

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

That said, Christians can be cursed by unbelievers for better reasons than others. It isn't enough to call yourself blessed merely because a pagan calls you an expletive. The key is the "for My sake" part. If you are cursed for conduct unbecoming of Christ, the shade thrown at you is not earning eternal glory for you.

In other words, to be a Christian, you must be called names, but the accusations must not stick.

Zechariah 8:13

And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. 

Christians who conduct themselves entirely in light of His commandments will be called names by pagans. Being a model Christian will get you cancelled, Karened, or God forbid, both.

So, Christians will, one way or another, be bywords. The question isn't IF, but WHICH and WHY?

Christians need to stop trying to impress people who hate them.

A young girl cannot successfully win a young man over to the merits of modesty by showing him her goods in private. 

It is high time we became better bywords.

Job 30:8-10

I am their byword. They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.

The drag queens and child molesters may throw shade at you for your beliefs, but you're in better company if you're on the other side of whoever they consider to be their allies. If ever an ally was an axis of evil, that would be it.

In summary, the world despised Jesus and tried to dispense with Him in the most violent of fashions. Yet, He rose above their shade. He is the light of the world and casts no shadow. You cannot toss darkness at the sun and succeed.

So, cheer up, Christian. You were born to be a byword in such a time as this. You will be called cranky or be accused of cussedness, but being considered a contrarion to their clique keeps you in a good company. So, keep up the good work of being called bad words by the bad guys.