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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: Why does it seem that Christians are always on the opposite side of societal debates and are ridiculed by others because we choose to march to heaven’s drumbeat? I feel like a misfit on Santa’s island of misfit toys. I think I’m doing right but the world’s values say I am living in unreasonable and dated times. If I compromise to get along, isn’t that in itself a compromise? – S.N.

A: The Bible says, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12, NKJV).

We live in an upside-down world. People hate when they should love, they quarrel when they should be friendly, they fight when they should be peaceful, they wound when they should heal, they steal when they should share, they do wrong when they should do right.

Have you ever seen a toy clown with a weight in its head? No matter what position you put it in, it invariably assumes an upside-down position. Put it on its feet or its side, and when you let go it flips back on its head.

From childhood to maturity, we are always prone to do what we should not do and refrain from doing what we ought to do. That is human nature. We have too much weight in the head and not enough ballast in our hearts, so we flip upside down when left alone. That is why the disciples, to the world, were misfits. To an upside-down man, a right-side-up man seems upside down. To the nonbeliever, the true Christian is an oddity and an abnormality. Christ’s righteousness is so revolutionary and so contradictory to people’s manner of living that it invokes the enmity of the world. But take heart! Christ has overcome the world.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

©2025 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c)2025 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.