Ethics: Should We Care What Others Think Of Us?

If you’ve heard one teenage movie moral, you’ve heard them all. “Be yourself, and don’t worry what other people think. Besides, if they really love you, then they won’t reject you for who you really are.” But is this always good advice? Is conformity bad? Is it particularly loving to care not at all about other people’s perceptions? Is it respectful? And what about for Christians? Should we want people to like us so that we can influence them better? Or should we want them to hate us so that we can proudly show that we are being persecuted for the sake of Christ by a world that hated Him first?

Bible references: Matthew 5:2-12, Matthew 10:16-39, Matt 13:18-30, Mark 10:17-31, Luke 11:37-54, Luke 21:10-24, John 15:18-27, Acts 7:51-60, Romans 12:2, Romans 12:10-21, 1 Cor 9:19-23, Eph 6:5-8, 2 Tim 3:10-13, Rev 20:4-5