Matthew 5:11-12 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. New Living Translation Study Bible
Jesus, in a surprising statement, says we should enjoy it when others tell lies about us. When people make fun of us, call us simpletons, call us fools, we should take it as a compliment. When people persecute us (e.g. deny us access to restaurants, employment, legal protection, or even go as far as imprison us unjustly, or kill our family members), we should be happy about it! Well…sometimes!
Sure, we can pretend that we feel this way about some people. In all honesty, it hurts even when the people we disagree with most say bad things about us. It is painful when people say we have no idea what we are doing. It bothers us deeply when people try to prevent others from agreeing with us. If someone calls us liars, well, those are fighting words! The instruction of Jesus is revolutionary to the normal human response.
Jesus is saying we should embrace opposition in a way that is totally out of character. We are to face these situations, not in our own best interest, but remembering these things occur, because we are following HIM. It is vital that we understand the situation. We are to be happy when persecution comes, because it is Jesus who is being persecuted, not us. Our happiness in these circumstances can only come through a realization that our lives have been identified as followers of Jesus. Our happiness comes through God’s blessing that attends Christ’s followers.
That brings me to what Jesus IS NOT saying. He does not say we should live in ways that deliberately create ill will. Jesus does not say our purpose is to have a caustic approach to people, to live in a condemning posture toward others. It does not say, “spend all your time telling people how wrong they are, how bad they are, how their lifestyles are destroying the culture.” Remember, Jesus reserved his most caustic words for religious leaders who were leading people astray. Jesus was open to those whose lifestyles were far from God (tax collectors, the sexually immoral, etc.), without ever condoning their choices and behavior.
We live in a time when ridicule of Biblical beliefs and traditions is common. We live in a time that others often accuse people of faith of being racists, bigots, simpletons, liars, and worse. Let us live in ways that we make sure any such accusation is false. Let us express love to others without giving approval of destructive behavior and lifestyles. May we live in ways, and may our words be used by God, to draw people into His grace rather than push them away. When we live as Jesus lived, we can accept persecution with joy, because it truly comes “in His name.”
