Yes, you read that correctly. Only it’s not true. I sort of wish it was true. But, even though I may state it emphatically at times…I actually DO care what you think.
I think we all care to some extent. Some of us more than others. Some of us are completely driven by what our parents…or spouse…or children…or friends THINK about us. We are concerned that they like us. We want them to think we are “relevant”, “cool”, or at the very least “intelligent”. And this is all fine and good. But not if it comes at the expense of doing the right thing according to scripture.
Caring about what people think is actually what makes sharing our faith and standing for truth most difficult. At least for me. It is easier to just not say anything. Right? Anyone agree with me? I find it so easy to focus on the present (“they will think I am too radical”; “they will think I am not cool”; “they will think I am narrow-minded and intolerant”) instead of keeping my focus on the Truth as presented in God’s Word.
There are SO many out there trying to destroy the Gospel. Through outright lies in the world or through deceptions labeled as “Christian”. We have to keep going back to God’s Word. We have to KNOW it, STUDY it, and LIVE it. We need to proclaim, as Paul did in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
Only then will we have the confidence to stand up for Christ. Only then can we be used by Him. If we are busy trying to fit in with the world, we will lose many opportunities. If we are busy trying to separate our physical selves from anything to do with the world, we won’t even have opportunities. But if, in contrast, we are busy living lives IN the world but are not OF the world, so that people see that we are DIFFERENT…if we show that we love God and not the things of the world…if we aren’t ashamed or afraid to talk to people about it…if we don’t care what people think…well, that is when we will be most effective for Jesus Christ.