Persecution

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

Matthew 5:10 (NIV)

To a Christian, the ultimate example of dying for righteousness is Jesus Christ, who died on the cross so that He could be our righteousness. In the Bible, the first disciple to be martyred after Jesus’ death was Stephen. It is also widely believed that, notwithstanding Judas, John was the only one of Jesus’ twelve disciples who was not martyred for the faith. However, John was arrested and lived in exile until his death. For the next 300 years after Jesus came to Earth, persecutions continued against Christians at different levels under different emperors in Rome until Constantine eventually accepted and established Christianity as the religion of the State. Persecution of Christians continues in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East today.

Another prominent example of one who gave his life for the faith in the 20th century is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the author of The Cost of Discipleship, who wrote, “Just as Christ is Christ only in virtue of his suffering and rejection, so the disciple is a disciple only in so far as he shares his Lord’s suffering and rejection and crucifixion.” Although Bonhoeffer was provided the opportunity to live in the United States during the time of the Nazi regime in Germany, he chose to stay in Germany to oppose and encourage others to oppose Nazi ideology. As a result, he was arrested in 1943 and hung by the Nazis in 1945 on the eve of the Nazi’s defeat.

The majority of Americans are familiar with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who championed civil rights in the United States using nonviolence. Dr. King knew the likelihood of being killed when he shared, “If physical death is the price I must pay to free my brothers and sisters from the permanent death of the spirit, then nothing could be more redemptive.”

I was called to work in the nonprofit sector very early in my career. As such, my values have generally aligned with the stated values of the organizations I worked for. For the most part, I have also reported to supervisors who had a strong faith that was in alignment with my own. Consequently, when I have had concerns about a course of action, I discussed my concerns with my supervisors. After these discussions, either my supervisor agreed with my assessment and did not pursue the course of action I was concerned with, or my supervisor’s explanations changed my perception of the situation. In the rare instances in which I believed my values were not in alignment with my supervisors, I found another job. Consequently, I have never suffered any persecution for pursuing the courses of action that I deemed to be righteous.

I have worked with others who thought that the actions of their leaders were unethical enough that they chose to take their concerns up the “chain of command.” When they were not satisfied with the outcomes, they took their concerns to the press. I think the latter action should only be followed after listening to and meditating without bias on the views of leadership and ensuring that we are truly called to this action. If this is done in a spirit of self-righteousness, it is not of God.

There may be others who do not have the luxuries I have had in my career and who will have to make a decision, under some element of duress, to do something illegal or unethical or lose their job. While I am not to judge how anyone else would act in these situations, we are clearly instructed to fear God more than people. If we participate in actions that are not in alignment with our sense of righteousness either through fear or greed, I believe that it will likely have an adverse impact on our faith and our overall walk with God. Christ clearly tells us here that when we suffer for doing what is right, we will ultimately receive a great blessing.

Although being righteous implies that we do not do things that are not righteous, it does not stop there. Jesus teaches us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Because we are not righteousness by our nature, this means that we are called to hunger and thirst for His righteousness. To trust in our own righteousness would be to despise the sacrifice He made on our behalf.

Once we truly hunger and thirst for His righteousness, He will call us to some action in accordance with His will. At this point, He allows us to choose to walk in faith or in accordance with the world or our own self-will. Each person's call is different, but it always requires faith and/or some element of sacrifice. This could entail the sacrifice of something material we cling to or the loss of our reputation (Matthew 5:11).