The New Testament doesn’t leave believers with the illusion that being a Christian will necessarily be popular. Jesus told his Disciples, "In the world you shall have tribulation." Paul stated, "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." Peter likewise phrased, "But when you suffer for doing good ...", using "when", not "if", in reference to persecution from government. I’m not sure how many promise card sets include those verses.

With this in mind, Christians need to walk wisely in this world - be as "harmless as doves," Jesus said. Peter’s instruction above is to be sure that if Christians are punished, that it should be because of righteousness, not for wrong-doing. Likewise, Christians should neither initiate nor provoke hostility by antagonizing people (unless by doing good). Jesus also counseled His followers to be as "wise as serpents". Christians need to be aware of the ideas and social currents that move and motivate the societies in which they live. If believers are prepared, opposition won’t catch them unaware.

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to many Christians that the entertainment media - movies, TV, music, theatre - are largely hostile to Christians and Christianity. Christians and Christian leaders are usually portrayed in negative stereotypes (a pattern which will become too familiar from other opponents of Christianity): ignorant; hostile; angry; humorless; narrow-minded; sociopathic; moral hypocrites; scam artists. No doubt there are a minority among people who believe in Christ (or say they do) who exhibit some of these characteristics, but in the "world" created by the entertainment media, such pathological Christians predominate. In the "world" the entertainment media creates, nothing is really right or wrong, nothing is wise or imprudent (other than Christians, of course). Everything is relative; everything just is. People who believe in right or wrong are invariably portrayed as uncaring, inflexible, simplistic, and out-of-step with modern society. People who live sinful but politically correct lifestyles or act imprudently are sympathetically portrayed as open-minded, loving, or courageous; any consequences flowing from their actions are ignored, portrayed as unconnected, or blamed on others (especially closed-minded Christians).

The mainstream news media - TV, radio, newspapers, magazines - are also largely hostile to Christians. Stories dealing with Christianity and Christians and the information sources used in them are frequently used to communicate and reinforce negative stereotypes. Stories are chosen and spun to advocate ideas that are contrary to Christianity and attack the veracity of the Bible and Christianity.

College and public school classrooms are increasingly being used as podiums to attack Christians and Christianity. The usual stereotypes and misrepresentations flourish, but with this Machiavellian twist: Christians get to pay taxes and tuition for the privilege of having their faith attacked. Biology classes teach macro-evolution (species to species) as fact (rather than as a theory, which would be appropriate) and deride the ideas of intelligent design and Theistic creation. Even known frauds have been used to advocate macro-evolution. Philosophy professors use their classes to advocate atheism and moral relativism; some single out Christians for continual, personal, challenges and ridicule of their faith. History professors select and spin (and occasionally create) facts to misrepresent Christians and Christianity (among other things). Literature and composition classes are used to advocate moral relativism and political activism for causes that are contrary to Christian moral teaching. This paragraph is not a condemnation of education. Far from it! I am, however, condemning the hijacking of education from the purpose of educating the whole person for the purpose of indoctrinating students into a narrow, secular, philosophy.

Secularists (some have called them "Secularist Fundamentalists"), as a group, are small (not all atheists and agnostics are secularists), but are very noisy and aggressive in their attacks on Christians and Christianity. Strangely, other religions get relatively little attention from secularists. Secularists have grown adept at manipulating and harnessing government institutions - executive, legislative, bureaucratic, and especially courts - to their desire to isolate and exclude Christians and expressions of Christian ideas from society. They are driven by hatred, and since denial of the existence of God means ethics and morals are self-defined, many secularists freely use dishonest, fallacious arguments such as stereotypes, strawman arguments (falsely attributing a position to an opponent and refuting the false position to discredit the opponent), ad hominem arguments (personal attacks), or twisting of scripture to challenge Christians and the Bible. Truth matters little to them if Christians and Christianity can be discredited, and many secularists use whatever arguments they think will be persuasive, regardless of validity. Tearing down is easier than building.

God warns Christians of the certainty of opposition for a reason - so that we can be prepared. Being prepared doesn’t mean being passive. It means being familiar with the truth of God’s word. Christians also need to be aware of the ideas underlying and influencing the cultures in which they live, and think about how God’s word speaks to that culture and its ideas. God’s word has answers for challenges and social problems, if Christians will learn them and act on them. Christians also need to be aware of their government’s laws and attitudes so as to work to retain and increase their (and all citizens’) freedom, or to be able to live and minister effectively while under the threat of persecution.

Humans are social creatures - we like to be liked, and we like to like other people. While this is generally helpful for maintaining a society, it can be taken too far. Telling people the truth often doesn’t make for personal popularity, as people don’t always enjoy hearing a truth, even truth they need to hear. Christians frequently find themselves facing such a situation: having to decide whether and how to speak the truth to someone. While love and wisdom must always be used and be the motivation, the truth must be told, clearly and directly. Sometimes the truth will be something to which the hearer is open to hearing. Other times, speaking truth will mean exposing another person’s fallacies or dishonesty, not usually a road to popularity.

Seeing others come to Christ is a joyful thing. When we share the truth of Christ with another person, we need to keep in mind that we aren’t the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One Who knows fully where each person is spiritually. The Holy Spirit brings the truth before non-believers as quickly or gradually as the person needs, and is the only One Who can convict of sin and give faith to a new believer. This means that our "job" is to share truth and let the Holy Spirit take care of the results. Christians "simply" need to tell the truth, without compromise, apology or fear.