4 mistakes zealous Christians make about persecution

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:10-12).

Sometimes, believers in Christ mistakenly call certain kinds of troubles they face as persecution when it's not. 

It's helpful to ask ourselves, "What’s not persecution?" Here are 4 kinds of troubles that we face that are not persecution.

1. The trials of life.

What does it mean to be persecuted? It's not just the normal trials of life that we all go through. A flat tire on the way to church is not persecution! A water heater that blows up on the mission field is not persecution! A lost passport on a short-term mission trip is not persecution!

2. Suffering for self-righteousness’ sake.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Blessed are those who are suffering because they are offensive, obnoxious, unpleasant, or hateful.” Jesus doesn’t say, “Blessed are those who are in trouble because they have been foolish and "holier-than-thou" in how they share their faith.”

Sometimes, we just come across as insensitive, arrogant, judgmental know-it-alls. No wonder we get negative push-back. “Being persecuted for our faith is different than being persecuted because we’re acting like jerks" (Relevant Magazine).

3. Self-inflicted wounds.

If you are crabby and other people then become difficult for you to live with, that's not persecution. If you aren’t doing your job well and you’re fired, demoted, or not given a raise, that's not persecution. If you are suffering for something foolish you've done, that's punishment, not persecution.

4. Partisan political conflict.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Blessed are they that are persecuted because of some cause.” 

Let me hurry to add that some causes, of course, are biblical. We stand up for the unborn, the poor, the orphans, and the oppressed – for those who can’t speak for themselves. We fight against injustice. 

But we better be careful about mixing religion and politics. Jesus doesn’t say, "Blessed are you who are persecuted because you are a Fox News fanatic or because you are NPR groupie.”

Truth doesn't come from the right or the left. Truth comes from above - from God. Some positions that biblical Christians take might seem way left to some people. Other positions that biblical Christians take might seem way right to some people. But no matter what position we take, let's make sure we do so carefully and graciously.

If you claim to be a Christ-follower and you feel that you are constantly being persecuted because people don’t like your Facebook posts, then please take a look at how you are communicating. Are you attacking people or loving them? 

Often Christians might just be getting justified push-back, not persecution.

Jesus is our example. He didn’t bring down persecution on Himself because of His arrogance and foolishness. He was meek and merciful. He was a peacemaker. He was kind and gentle. It was His righteous life and His calling people to live righteously that led to His own experience of persecution, His own death on the cross. Jesus spoke the truth in love. He was full of grace and truth.

Look closely at Matthew 5:8-10. The kind of persecution Jesus is talking about here is “for righteousness’ sake” and “on account of Me.” 

According to Jesus, genuine persecution will come to us because of 2 things: 1) the life we live and 2) the Lord we love.

Question: Are you living a truly righteous life? Are you fully identified with Jesus? If so, then expect persecution. Then rejoice and be glad. Great is your reward in heaven.