Crabs in a basket -- Birinci Yuhanna'nın mektubu 3

I Yahunna 3:14, 15

Kardeşler, dünya sizden nefret ederse şaşmayın. Biz kardeşleri sevdiğimiz için ölümden yaşama geçtiğimizi biliyoruz. Sevmeyen, ölümde kalır.

Today's word list:

• dünya -- the world
• nefret -- hate. etmek -- to hate.
• şaşmak-- to be surprised.
  
• ölüm -- death. ölümden -- from death. ölümde -- in/on/at death.
• yaşam -- life. yaşama -- to life.
  

When you are out catching crabs, you can toss them into a basket without a lid. As soon as one crab starts to climb out, you see, the other crabs pull him back down. In toxic cultures, those who don't want to go down with the ship are bitterly resented as traitors. In many inner-city schools, students who pay attention to their studies are reviled and brutally persecuted for "acting white."

At the time this letter was written, the Jewish nation that had repudiated Jesus was closing in on its rendevous with destiny, its obliteration. Those among them who followed the Messiah İsa came to be seen as traitors, holding on to an unfashionable hope. Economic boycotts against Christians made life hard. There were reasons why the "poor saints in Jerusalem" that Paul took up collections for were poor.

And there were reasons why James, John, and Peter paid so much attention to the obligations Christians have to one another. As Jesus warned His people at the last supper, they better love one another, because they sure couldn't expect a lot of affection from the world they were parting company from!

It takes stamina to "walk away from Omelas."