No human being by nature wishes persecution upon himself. Even Jesus Christ prayed that His father should take the cross from him (read Mathew 26:39). Jeremiah the prophet prayed to God to deliver him from the power of the wicked (Jer. 20:13). Unfortunately, no matter how we wish off persecutions, they will always come. As Christians, we should not play into the hands of the enemy as the enemy is always happy when we enter into their trap. The enemy takes pleasure in attacking goodness, maligning and ridiculing the righteous who try to do good.That’s why Jesus warns that if we must suffer persecution, it must be for the sake of righteousness (Matt 5:10).
In the world of today, as soon as you set off to do good, know that the devil will be ready to disparage you. Jeremiah cried out saying: “I hear the whisperings of many: ‘Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!’ All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine.” (Jer. 20:10) Persecuting people even when they do good is what brings retrogression and lack of progress to any society. In the political arena today, we have witnessed more calumny against positively charged individuals with laudable agenda for change than otherwise. People always prefer to cut down the straight tree and leave the crooked ones standing in the forest. People who are honest, diligent, and upright are often labeled difficult, stubborn, or “too serious”, while those who bend the rules, compromise their values, and act corruptly are called flexible, smart, and easy to work with.
For a true Christian, however, you must learn to live with persecutions, by accepting it as part of your spiritual growth. The world we live in, is not a perfect world. The world has been adulterated by sin, but the grace of God still abounds and evil cannot overcome good (read Rom 5:12-15). Jesus admonishes those who suffer persecution, not to live in perpetual fear of evil. “do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matt 10:28). Jesus himself carried his own cross to teach us patience when suffering persecution. May this virtue help us as we live in a world full of persecutions.