We Must Be Doing Something Right
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
To revile means to verbally abuse, to call one an ugly name, or attack one’s character with hurtful and insulting words and/or phrases. We’ve all heard the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. We know that is not true at all. I have heard folks say that they had rather take a beating than a verbal reprimand. To persecute means to afflict or harass constantly so as to injure or distress; oppress cruelly, especially for reasons of religion, politics, or race”. (Next to my Bible, Matthew Henry’s Commentary, and Unger’s Bible Dictionary, I could not write an essay or a blog without Webster’s Dictionary!) And, of course, to have “all manner of evil” spoken “against you falsely” is to be lied about or to have completely fictitious tales made up about you. I have experienced both.
We are all guilty of spreading hurtful rumors about others: “Well, I don’t know if this is true or not, but so and so–blah, blah, blah.” If you don’t know if it is true, then don’t say it. If you know that it is true, still don’t say it. Folks going through bad situations don’t need for others to pile on with their rumors, opinions, or unasked-for advice. People really like “nice, juicy gossip”. This is a misnomer: if it is gossip, it is not nice, and that kind of “juicy” is not refreshing. While gossip may not be intended as a reviling, a form of persecution, or of evil speaking, it rarely produces a positive result. If you have ever been the one who was the subject of gossip, you will know in some measure what it is like to be evil spoken of. I remember playing the childhood game of “gossip” many years ago. What starts out as one message gets changed into a completely different message by the time it gets around the group of players. Unfortunately, it is not just the children who embellish upon gossip.
Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary: “There is no evil so black and horrid which, at one time or other, has not been said, falsely, of Christ’s disciples and followers”. Christians, particularly those who are most conscientious about their faith, are the ones who are usually targeted for persecution. Those who are lackadaisical about their faith are not hassled very much by the devil. Why would he bother? Why would he waste time in pursuit of them when he could spend time and effort in persecution of those who are making a difference for the kingdom of God? Those who follow the devil seem to escape persecution (for now). King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 24:19-20: “Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.” Living for Christ means suffering for Him at times. In our Christian walk, we are going to “step on a few toes” from time to time. People will be made uncomfortable around us because our Christlike lifestyle and demeanor makes them feel guilty. People don’t like to feel guilty so they retaliate against us by saying ugly things about us or by shunning us completely.
However, we shouldn’t let this make us downcast or depressed because Jesus tells us to be exceedingly glad. Being persecuted for His sake is something to rejoice over, not to be sad or upset about. The bottom line is that it is really Christ and His righteousness that are hated and persecuted. Evil people are so against Christ and God’s word that they will go after anyone who is a believer in Christ. I suppose we could see ourselves as “collateral damage”, but instead we should humbly wear our “badge of honor” for suffering for Christ. Mr. Henry also wrote that “Christ is maligned:, which means “malevolent, malicious; evil; very harmful.” Malign is the term from where we get the word “malignant” which is used to describe a cancer. Evil does grow like a cancer. This type of cancer destroys a person’s soul long before it takes his or her life.
Jesus encourages His followers to rejoice and be glad of the reward for all the suffering and persecution because the reward will far surpass whatever we have to endure for Christ’s sake. Why would we think we could get by without persecution when the prophets of God suffered for their obedience to God at the hand of evil men? Some Old Testament prophets were mocked, ignored, and some were killed by those whom they sought to help. We have seen over the last few years how Christians overseas have been killed for their faith. I am afraid that more severe persecution will make its way into our nation in the not too distant future. However, whatever persecutions that we face, we should not boast in our sufferings, but rather, as the Apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 12:10: “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” As the title of my blog suggests, if we are being persecuted as a Christian, then we must be doing something right.