Matthew 10:24-32
The Rev. Dr. Robert S. Langworthy, preaching
June 21, 2026
In a memoir with the lovely title Everything Sad is Untrue, Iranian-born Daniel Nayeri writes about his mother. She grew up in a devout and prestigious Muslim home. She became a doctor and very rich. Everyone 9regarded her highly and politicians treated her like a queen – until she chose to follow Jesus. She then became an object of relentless criticism; and, as word spread of her conversion, people stopped inviting her to their parties, power players quit returning her calls and strangers on the street cursed her and spat on her.
Yet, despite all the criticism and ostracism she endured, she was relentlessly confident in her commitment to Christ. She viewed walking with Jesus worth whatever price she had to pay – and she never gave a second thought to backing off from bearing witness to Him. When she hung a little cross from her car’s rearview mirror and one day saw a note stuck on the windshield that read, “Madame Doctor, if we see this cross again, we’ll kill you,” she right away removed it, only to replace with a bigger cross.
Finally, to protect her family and preserve her life, she fled Iran, leaving behind millions in cash and property. But she never regretted the loss of her wealth, reputation, standing in society, and beloved homeland, so confident was she that the joy of following Jesus would always more than compensate for whatever she had to let go of to stay close to Him.
Though in this country none of us have had to make such sacrifices for our faith, some of us have lost standing and reputation in certain circles. At times we’ve been maligned and marginalized as bigoted, anti-intellectual people who hinder progress. But as students of Teacher Jesus, we know we’re not above our Teacher and may suffer some defamation as He.
While we should never summarily dismiss criticism as a product of prejudice or projection, but sincerely consider whether it points out a fault we need to correct, neither should we automatically validate it. After all, if they unfairly slandered “the master of the house”, calling Jesus “Beelzebul” (another name for the devil), shouldn’t we “of his household” expect some of the same?
But, just as we shouldn’t let a compliment go to our head, we shouldn’t let a criticism go to our heart. We just weigh its legitimacy as honestly as we can. If it’s legitimate, we repent and change. If it’s not, we refrain from letting it get to us and leave it to God to vindicate us in the end. After all, Jesus tells us that “nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing is secret that will not become known”, and that, if we’ve been acknowledging Him before others, He’ll acknowledge us before the ultimate Judge. Thus, we’re to rest confident that at last God will reveal everyone’s true colors – and that His verdicts about us all are unquestionably correct and definitively final.
Being confident of that outcome enables us, even when our character is impugned, to remain strong and secure in our sense of self-worth and to focus on matters of higher priority: telling in the light what He’s told us in the dark and shouting from the housetops what He’s whispered behind closed doors. If we’re demeaned, we’re fortified by knowing that God, who notices the fall of each sparrow to the ground and keeps track of the number of our head hairs, closely watches how we live and will one day set the record straight for all to see.
In the meantime, we are not to be bothered by those who bring false accusations against us any more than we are to fear those who can merely kill us. We are to fear God alone and persevere in seeking to please Him alone.
To maintain our confidence in the face of criticism, both deserved and undeserved, we need, from outside us, from beyond us, an objective confirmation of the truth that validates that confidence. None of us can do that for ourselves.
In a sermon Tim Keller noted how many think that you can do that for yourself, that you mustn’t let anyone else define your value or potential, that all that matters is what you think of yourself. Keller points out that such an approach is a denial of the reality of our dependence.
Suppose a man imagines himself a great singer and sings every chance he gets. But every time he does, folks cover their ears and beg him to stop. If he doesn’t, they run out of the room or scream, “You’re horrid! I’d rather hear nails scratched along a blackboard!” What would you think if that guy keeps insisting, “It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. I know I’m a great singer.” Would you applaud his high self-esteem? No, you’d think him delusional and maybe mentally ill.
While self-talk has a contribution to make in self-development, it can be just wishful thinking. We don’t become good singers by telling ourselves we are; don’t become wise by telling ourselves we’re brilliant; don’t become strong by imagining we’re Hercules. Our aspiration is realistic only if someone beyond us substantiates our hope.
All of us are dependent on someone other than ourselves to substantiate who we think we are and can become. Our self-perception has to rest on someone else’s perception. If it is not God, it’ll be a teacher, a friend, a parent, a hero – another fallible human being who may be delusional themselves or just dishonest.
The righteous God is all-knowing and ever honest; and He alone has a perfect grip on reality, even in its most hidden depths. He can see beneath appearances to discern a person’s actual essence and potential.
Rick Warren recalls a time when he was speaking in a prison yard full of 5,000 inmates. He was standing on the ground without a stage, and nobody was paying attention except a few hundred near to him. But he had a microphone that projected his voice throughout the yard. So he pulled out a $50 bill, held it up, and said, “Who’d like this $50 bill?” Five thousand hands shot up, and he now had everyone’s attention. Then he tore it, crumpled it up and asked, ‘Who still wants it?” All hands went up again. Then he spat on the bill, threw it on the ground, stomped it into the dirt, and asked, “Who wants it now?” Five thousand hands remained in the air. He then remarked how many of them had been torn, stomped upon and treated like dirt – dismissed as worthless lost causes who’d never amount to anything. He noted too how they’d discredited themselves by the crimes they’d committed. He let that sink in, and then said: “But there’s good news: You haven’t lost one cent of your value to God and He longs for you to let Him make you a better version of yourself.”
Even if people treat us like dirt, God sees us as diamonds in the dust. He sees the value we have, and He thinks it infinitely worth His while to take us as we are and make us all we can be. Despite opposing criticism and ostracism, we can be confident in a gracious God for whom nothing is impossible. All we have to do is trust in His kindly estimation of our value and treat others as precious treasures just as He treats us!
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