“The assured Christian may smile with contempt upon all his enemies, and say, ‘Is this the worst that you can do?’” (John Flavel)

Christians are not the popular kids at school anymore. Each day we wake up living in a society that, for the most part, wants nothing more than to see us crumble. This is why we echo the phrase, “Be in the world, but not of the world.”

We live in the world, but as Christians, we shouldn’t act like the world.

And when we faithfully walk that out—when we are practicing what we preach and obeying God—everything hits the fan . . . eventually.

Our enemies in this world—ones whom we are to love!—try to destroy us in every way possible. From cussing at us to throwing us in prison, we are attacked from every angle, whether it’s minimal marginalization or fierce persecution. They can even kill us.

That’s when we say: Is this the worst that you can do?

We ask this question because of the assurance we have in Christ. Christ holds our life in His hands; He dictates when we live and when we die. So we say to the persecutor: is this the worst you can do? The God of the universe is my Father, and you think I am that concerned about what you can do to me?

This isn’t cockiness, but confidence. Confident in God. Andy Mineo said it best: “Some people say I’m cocky, I just know that God got me.”

It’s not about us, but God. We have confidence in the Lord and know that He is in control. So, we may smile with contempt at our enemies and say, That’s the best you got?

If somebody cusses you out, shrug it off. If you’re fined for preaching the gospel—keep preaching it! If you’re thrown in prison for disobeying orders, preach the gospel in prison. If they sentence you to death because of your faith, preach the gospel to your executor until your last breath.

Because, truly, the worst thing they can do is kill us.