It’s important to affirm that the Church in America is not suffering persecution, narrowly defined. When they persecuted the prophets, the end of that pursuit was death. We are not candidates for that noble calling. Our brothers in China and Iraq (as examples) are suffering persecution every Sunday. They see their lives in constant peril and risk an inherent part of their humanity. As Christians, they grow up with opposition. They know that to be a Christian is intrinsically dangerous. Yet, they press on in hopes that one day the Gospel will open doors and that their message will go farther and farther.
What the American Church fails to grasp–at times–is that opposition presents opportunities to witness. We are not suffering persecution (though we may hyperbolize at times), what most of our churches are suffering is self-pity; a victimized mentality that convinces us that we are being persecuted.
On the other hand, those churches shouting the claims of King Jesus understand that self-pity happens precisely when we fail to be living witnesses to Christ in our culture. Opposition of any form does not mean we have less time, but more time to witness and speak of the ascended Lord. The Church is to redeem the time because the days of self-pity are evil.
When Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, launched a police raid on a black church a couple of days ago, whom she claimed was defying her shutdown orders, you can be sure that that congregation was not sitting around in self-pity. The pastor stated rightly the goal of the mayor: “The mayor wants to educate everyone into compliance – which means intimidate.” Precisely. What many politicians want to do is not persecute in its narrow sense, but to make us so docile that closing our doors is treated as an act of love where we are subtly catechized into compliance.
I do not believe we are persecuted. I believe we are too easily seduced into self-pity. We are victims of our victimization. If, however, we intend to use these days as opportunities to proclaim Messiah Jesus boldly, then our first task is to acknowledge we are ambassadors of Christ who gives us the Spirit of courage.
Foxe’s book of martyrs should be handed out by the box load. And then maybe we might gain a little perspective.
But then, I thought the the whole point of squirreling away years of food, ammo and fuel was for this type of SHTF scenario. Instead we are protesting the state induced House Arrest because we can’t get our haircut or be able to go to Cheesecake Factory after church.