Over the past few days, we’ve had the privilege of serving the people who’ve been most hit by the coronavirus pandemic – migrant workers who are struggling to go back to their homes.
Around 350 of them took shelter in a school, and by partnering with the right people, Little More Love managed to arrange food for them for a couple of days while they made arrangements to get back to their villages and cities.
I was posting some pictures of the distribution and one of my friends who saw it, reached out to me, rebuking me for not adhering to social distancing norms.
I explained that we tried, but it wasn’t really possible because there’s 350 people in a small place going hungry everyday, and their priority is to fill their stomachs, not to maintain distance.
To which, she responded – “if someone else sees these pictures and they’re even more particular than me about this and they post it on social media, blaming you and giving you negative publicity, what will you do? All your hard work over the years will go down the drain.”
I thought about it for a moment.
Would negative publicity lead to all my hard work being destroyed?
Would negative publicity lead to us being less credible, less impactful, and more importantly, less fruitful in the way that we spread love and further the Kingdom of God?
Is negative publicity something we should be careful about?
And then it hit me.
There was someone who did so much more and yet, had the most negative publicity of all – Jesus.
I mean…you don’t get crucified for being a people pleaser.
Jesus knew the mission – to heal, to save, and to proclaim the TRUTH.
That’s what mattered to Him.
The opinions of men didn’t.
Negative publicity didn’t ruin Jesus’ hard work; it didn’t make Him less credible, less impactful and less fruitful.
In fact, it helped Him do exactly what He had come to do – die for us.
(What I have written below has nothing to do with my friend warning me to be careful, but is simply something for usto think about negative publicity.)
If you’re a Christian, you’re gonna have to make some choices that the world does not agree with.
We think about promises across the Bible and delight in the ones that bless us, but here’s a promise for us –
You will be hated by everyone because of Me.
– Matthew 10:22
If we hold true to His words, and His works, we are going to be hated – for our views on controversial matters, for our faith in the Word of God, and for doing things that the world may not do.
And yet, we see through the Cross, how God can use that to make us more fruitful, to make us more impactful, and to further His Kingdom.
We are called to love, and that sometimes means being hated.
It’s time we answer that call.
