You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil about you because of Me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how thy persecuted the prophets who were before you.   Matthew 5:11-12 HCSB

Let’s give them something to talk about. “Something to Talk About” became a hit song for Bonnie Raitt after its release in March of 1991. It went on to become theme song for the movie with the same title, released in 1995. But long before this phrase gained popularity because of the song and the movie, I had heard people say, “Well, if they are going to talk, let’s give them something to talk about.” The meaning behind that is if you aren’t doing what the gossip mill accuses you of doing, you might as well just go ahead and do it. In all honesty, that never made much sense to me. I once heard a co-worker say that if his wife was going to accuse him of having an affair, he may as well go ahead and have an affair.

As Christians, however, we must give people something to talk about. Now, what do I mean by this? I mean that if you aren’t doing anything worth talking about, then you need to start. Anytime we do something different in our lives, we are subject to becoming a part of the gossip mill. Rumors may be spread and they may or may not be true. They may start out as true but become seriously twisted as they are passed on.

When we surrender our lives to Christ, we become new creations in Christ. We get rid of our old sinful selves and become new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). When you make that kind of change in your life, people will take notice. People will begin to talk about you. I can assure you that there will be those who will make fun of you. There will be those who persecute you. There will be those who will recall any and every bad thing you have ever done and tell others that there is no way you are saved. And that’s okay, because they are causing you to be blessed. They are making your reward in heaven great. This is what our Scripture passage tells us. So, we should rejoice when this happens.

And if you think you may have a hard time rejoicing while others persecute you, consider this. There will also be a number of people who see Christ in you. They will see that change in you. They will wonder what it is. They may not even ask you, they may just ask someone else what is going on with you. But they will want what you have. This is the opportunity that you have to win others to Christ.

There will be people who will watch you and envy the new you. They will envy that peace and joy that you have found in Christ. They may not understand how you came to have it, but they will want it for themselves. They may even come to you and give you a chance to share your testimony and tell them what Christ has done in your life.

So, my question to you today, is have you surrendered your life to Christ? Has it changed how you speak, how you behave, and how you treat others? Have you given those around you something to talk about? If not, you may want to take a good hard look at whether or not you are truly saved. Because my friend, if you were truly saved, you changed many of your ways. You definitely gave everyone around you something to talk about.

We can’t choose how people respond to the new person we have become. We can only rejoice when they persecute us knowing that the Bible tells us we are blessed because of it. We can pray for them.

We can also use every opportunity to tell others about what Christ has done in our lives. We can tell those who want what we have, how to get it.

Have a great day!