We continue our look at the final beatitude which says, “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way” (Matt. 5:10-12). I think to totally understand this beatitude, we need to realize what these verses on persecution do not say.
These verses do not say, “Blessed are they who are persecuted because they’re obnoxious.” OR “Blessed are they who are persecuted because they were arrogant and abusive in their attempts to witness.” OR “Blessed are they who are persecuted because they had a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude.” We need to realize that we can bring endless suffering upon ourselves and can create difficulties because we act foolishly or self-righteously.
Peter makes it very clear in his writings that it is possible to suffer for the wrong reasons. He says in I Peter 4:15, “If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.” Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:16 how we are to conduct ourselves in the world, “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” So, if we feel we are being persecuted, we need to first make sure it isn’t our fault and a result of something we have done wrong.
As Americans we find it hard to be happy if we have a bad day, let alone if we should ever face persecution. The Apostle Paul gave us such a wonderful example of how we should react when we are persecuted for being a truly devoted follower of Jesus. In Acts 16, we read about when he was in the city of Philippi and was overtaken by a mob, arrested, beaten, locked in chains and put into prison. This is not my idea of a good day. Most of us would have been inclined to just want to try to get some sleep and hope things looked better in the morning. Yet, at about midnight, Paul and his companion, Silas, were not sleeping and they weren’t up singing the blues, comparing cuts and bruises or telling sob stories. Instead, these two sore, uncomfortable and weary men were singing praises to God and praying! Years later, Paul would write to the church in Philippi from another prison in Rome, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice!” (Phil 4:4). What an amazing example for us to follow!
So how should we respond to persecution? I think there are four things to remember:
1. Sometimes we simply need to leave. Remember what happened in Acts 13:49-52 to Paul and Barnabas? “So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region. Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” We are not promised a blessing if we go looking for trouble and none of us need to develop a martyr complex. Just like Snagglepuss, we need to sometimes say, “Exit, stage right!” and then we need to make our exit and leave.
2. We need to guard against compromise. One way to end persecution is to become like those who would oppose you. We need to remember we are called to please and obey God and not men. Peter and John were ordered to stop preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, but their response in Acts 4:19b was, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?” They knew Who they were supposed to obey.
3. We need to love our enemies. It’s easy to think of ways to get even when someone has hurt us or those we love. We can be quick to begin to scheme our retaliation against those who have wronged us. Unfortunately, revenge is bittersweet. We may feel better for a moment, but before long we will get more of what we’ve dished out; like the saying goes, “What goes around, comes around.” God wants us to love our enemies and break the cycle of revenge. Instead of lashing out with anger, we are called by God to love those who mistreat us.
4. We should pray for those who persecute us. The bottom line is simple; hurting people hurt other people. The person who injures you is often the victim of personal pain which may be buried and forgotten. They attack others in the same way they have been hurt. Likewise, many of those who may be the source of persecution are not believers; they are people who need Christ.
Jesus challenged the thinking of His day, and His teaching is still radically different from what many people believe today. I need to ask myself if I am ready to respond in these ways if I am persecuted. Are you?
Until next week…
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