Many people of faith idolize martyrdom. Perhaps without using those exact words. They place a premium on conviction over safety. The hope, of course, is finding virtue there. Even in death.

On the other side of conviction, then, is a made virtue of rejection. We don’t want to be rejected, of course. Nobody wants it directly. But indirectly… well, it can be a sign of godliness and favor.

Today, some Christians seek out rejection. Not merely as a personal badge of honor, but as proof of the sincerity of their conviction and the rightness of the work. This is problematic enough. But in rendering rejection righteous, we make rejecting the same. Particularly as we reject the rejectors.

Jesus first goes to the actual rejected. Not the moralist with a persecution complex. But even he might still have a chance.