10But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, "Where is he?" 12And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, "He is a good man," others said, "No, he is leading the people astray." 13Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
Is today that much different? Let's do a 21st century remix of verse 13-"For fear of [the boss, the ACLU, ridicule] no one speaks openly of Him." Almost, but not quite true.
We don't have martyrdom in significant quantities in most of the Anglosphere, but many Christians wind up pulling their punches in mixed company; it's not polite to talk about religion outside of church. The persecution is much more subtle than the physical violence you'll see in some countries; cold shoulders, slower promotions and the occasional pink slip are the American manifestations.
Few people are bold enough to go beyond the "let the children come" Sunday School version of Jesus and present the Lord and Savior that died for us on Golgotha in the public square. It's not polite, but Eileen hollering about the truck we were about to hit when it slammed on the brakes while I was looking over to make a lane change wasn't polite either. The latter saved a nasty fender-bender at 25MPH; the former can save someone's eternity.
Don't be afraid to be impolite or un-PC. You'll get some looks, but that comes with the territory.
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