SOMT 10: Persecution
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Mt. 5:10-12
Once again we see that one of the things the world tells us we should try to avoid is exactly something that Jesus says will be a part of following him. If your life meets little opposition, there is reason to believe you are not walking in the light of the Kingdom. One central theme that runs through the lives of Jesus and his faithful followers is persecution. A Christianity that ruffles no feathers is a Christianity that is no different from that which it purports to change. And if it's no different than the rest of the world, why should the rest of the world be interested?
Yet this passage doesn't say that all who are persecuted are blessed, but those who are persecuted BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. There is an unfortunate tendency within Christian circles to seek out persecution as a way of validating their faith. If people hate me I must be doing the work of God. But there are all kinds of other reasons why people might not like you. You might, for example, be annoying or insensitive. It is not uncommon for us to think that people are rejecting the Gospel when in reality they are simply rejecting our mode of delivery. Other times it isn't the Gospel they are rejecting, but some other conviction we've pontificated about and assumed all gospel believers share (political views for instance), thinking rather irresponsibly that they are inseparably linked. But to be persecuted for righteousness is to be persecuted for setting a lifestyle example that challenges at the core our inherent cravings for domination and self-gratification. To refuse to exercise unethical business practices, for example, challenges the unspoken dogma of the survival of the fittest--truth is what I can get away with and is what gets me what I want. If you challenge what is increasingly viewed as our evolutionary right and the key to success, you will surely be met with resistance.
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Mt. 5:10-12
Once again we see that one of the things the world tells us we should try to avoid is exactly something that Jesus says will be a part of following him. If your life meets little opposition, there is reason to believe you are not walking in the light of the Kingdom. One central theme that runs through the lives of Jesus and his faithful followers is persecution. A Christianity that ruffles no feathers is a Christianity that is no different from that which it purports to change. And if it's no different than the rest of the world, why should the rest of the world be interested?
Yet this passage doesn't say that all who are persecuted are blessed, but those who are persecuted BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. There is an unfortunate tendency within Christian circles to seek out persecution as a way of validating their faith. If people hate me I must be doing the work of God. But there are all kinds of other reasons why people might not like you. You might, for example, be annoying or insensitive. It is not uncommon for us to think that people are rejecting the Gospel when in reality they are simply rejecting our mode of delivery. Other times it isn't the Gospel they are rejecting, but some other conviction we've pontificated about and assumed all gospel believers share (political views for instance), thinking rather irresponsibly that they are inseparably linked. But to be persecuted for righteousness is to be persecuted for setting a lifestyle example that challenges at the core our inherent cravings for domination and self-gratification. To refuse to exercise unethical business practices, for example, challenges the unspoken dogma of the survival of the fittest--truth is what I can get away with and is what gets me what I want. If you challenge what is increasingly viewed as our evolutionary right and the key to success, you will surely be met with resistance.
posted by Kevin Hanly at
1:44 PM
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