Separateness from the World Can Be Lifesaving

“The world has hated them,” Jesus Christ said of his followers, “because they are no part of the world.” (John 17:14) By keeping themselves separate from the world​—its politics, ways and attitudes—​true Christians often become objects of ridicule and outright hatred. But such separateness may also serve as a protection in times of political upheaval.

A man living in a South American university city found this to be true in his case. He was very active at the university in directing political activities. Then, his casual interest in the Scriptures, sparked by a conversation with one of Jehovah’s witnesses, developed into a serious study of the Bible. Learning the Christian view of noninvolvement in politics, he gradually withdrew from his circle of friends and their ideologies.

His former friends and political associates scoffed and ridiculed what they termed his “newfound ignorance.” Time and again he explained his Bible-based stand to them. Then, in the early part of the 1970’s, a sudden turn of events in the political scene brought a change of attitude toward the ideologies that this man had once supported. His former associates were either exiled, imprisoned or killed. How happy he is to be alive and free today because of having taken his stand as a disciple of Jesus Christ!