As long as we live in this fallen world, we will be buffeted with at least two conflicting standards. The first is obviously the standard by which we are named—the wisdom of Christ, the aroma of the gospel, the scandal of the cross. But in the history of the Church, the competing standard that has presented the greatest temptation to professing Christians has been the standard of worldly respectability. This is the process by which new wineskins get cracked and dry, by which they become old wineskins.
One of the most difficult lessons for us to learn is how to not care about the honors that the world might bestow. Such honors may be lawfully received, and used, but never because they matter in themselves. How can you believe, Jesus asked, when you receive honor from one another? A desire for respectability, Jesus taught, is a profound impediment to faith. And we are saved by faith. We overcome the world by faith. This means we are saved, and overcome the world, by means of a sanctified apathy.
Athanasius was run out of town repeatedly. Calvin was run out of town. The apostle Paul was chased from one town to the next. The ultimate example, the only real example, was Jesus, and He was run out of more than one town. What is the faith that overcomes the world? It is the faith that does not care what the world thinks during this process.
Whether the world praises or blames should be a matter of indifference to us. We should care about it as much as we care whether the hairs on our head are odd or even in number. Does the world accredit us? Good for them, but that is not where we look. What matters is whether we are accredited by God, and found faithful in Him.
This is not a matter of tactics or technique, whether embracing or avoiding. It is a matter of the heart.