If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.’
“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry. John 15:18-27
Since we are not of this world but of the Kingdom of God, its necessary to make every effort to set ourselves apart. Setting a higher standard for our portrayals of the human form and the human soul. As men and women of the Lord our body is his, our soul, is his, our spirit is his. This should be enough to help us remember to treat the human figure as having been made by God. Though marred by sin and sin's effects on the planet, we are not the less given the Holy Spirit to guide us in all that we do and all that we are. The Word of God is very clear about respecting that which bears the image of God stamped upon it. We are able to reach hearts and minds for Christ if we adhere to the simple principle in Micah 6:8. Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God. HCSB
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