In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).

Hmmm…

I hope to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, so must I face persecution? Engaging in missions over the years, mostly with college students, I’ve been ridiculed and mocked, called names and ignored. While this might count as persecution, it fails to compare to what other Christians around the world face (check out the World Watch List on the most difficult places in the world to follow Jesus).

However, I feel the winds blow. My personal views differ from the ascendent societal norms on a slew of topics, including sports betting, recreational drug use, sexuality, gender, child-rearing, politics and tattoos, and that’s just off the top of my head. I confront these diverging views daily.

How did I get to such differing perspectives? The study and application of the Scriptures—God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness—led me down this road less traveled. Over the years the roots of these scriptures sank deep, and there’s no tugging them out. And why would I want to?

I often hear quoted Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken, particularly his closing line, as a guide to life in our individualistic, and intensely narcissistic, American culture:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Ironically, anyone who chooses to study and live out the teachings of the Bible takes a road less-traveled. That said, those dedicated to the scriptures often fail to gain applause from cultural influencers holding to a “less-traveled road” creed. Not all roads lead to acceptance—some route to persecution and difficulty.

But that’s how it’s always been, as Paul warns Timothy. I hope to follow the teachings of the Scriptures with open eyes and a soft heart toward those around me, understanding that the ways of the world continually fail to yield human flourishing, while life and peace come from the good hand of the Lord.

That’s a road to travel.

2 Timothy 3 in week twenty-seven of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Sebastian Unrau