When People First Meet You

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this from my brothers: “When I first met you, I didn’t like you. But now, I’d put my life down for you.”

At first, people often struggle with me. Why? Because I carry myself a certain way. I expect accountability. I don’t sugarcoat things. I don’t always agree with how the world does things. And I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.

But over time, people begin to see something else—it’s not about me. It’s about being genuine. It’s about truly caring for others. When I speak truth or call something out, it’s not for my benefit, it’s for theirs.

The world is full of people who talk big but can’t follow through. My heart is to live differently, not to conform, but to serve. And what happens when people see that? They come to trust it. They come to love it. They come to know it’s real.

Yeshua told us plainly:

“If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would have loved its own. But you do not belong to the world—on the contrary, I have picked you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

—John 15:18–19 (CJB)

So here’s the reflection: Do people like you at first because you blend into the world? Or do they struggle with you at first—but later come to love you—because you refuse to conform to it?