Despised

Abinadi was rejected by his people. “They were wroth with him, and sought to take away his life; but the Lord delivered him out of their hands” (Mosiah 11:26; see also Mosiah 12:9).

So it’s fitting that the Isaiah chapter he quoted to the king and his priests describes Jesus as “despised and rejected of men” (Mosiah 14:3, Isaiah 53:3). The message is clear: When you’re doing the will of God, you can’t count on being popular.

The word despise comes from the Latin prefix de- (“down”) and the word specere (“to look at”). When someone despises you, they think they’re better than you, and they view your inferior position not with compassion but with contempt. So the fact that you’re despised says more about the despisers than about you.

No wonder Abinadi urged his people to “repent in sackcloth and ashes” (Mosiah 11:25). Bringing themselves down a few notches would certainly have helped them to see things more clearly and probably would have enabled them to have more respect for the less-fortunate among them.

Jesus said, “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake; for ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you” (3 Nephi 12:11-12, Matthew 5:11-12). When we are despised, we are in good company!

Today, I be less bothered by the negative opinions of others. If someone treats me disrespectfully, I will pause to think about what is motivating them to act this way instead of assuming that it’s all about me. I will also remember that many good people have been mistreated before, so I am not alone.