Blessed Are Those…

There will be times where we face unfair treatment of ourselves, of those we love, and difficulties. From my experience (in our culture) these things often come from those who are in positions of power over us. Matthew 5:10 reminds us though, that NO MATTER what we go through, NO MATTER what we face in this life, that when we choose to be obedient to what is right and what is good, that we will be blessed. The Kingdom of heaven is for those who choose to do right, even if that leads to persecution.

Now, those of us reading this, we may never face physical persecution. We may never have our very life taken because of our belief in God or standing up for injustice. But, maybe your job has been threatened if you chose to do what is right. Maybe your friendship with someone has been lost because you chose to stand up for what was good and right. Maybe there’s a rift with a family member because you chose to do what was right.

This verse tells us that when we are treated unfairly and unholy for doing what’s right, we have a choice here. We can do what’s right and face the unholy and unjust treatment that comes, or we can turn away from what is right and avoid the pain. But as Gandhi said: “Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.”

Jesus offers us encouragement us in these difficult moments. When the world, or even other Christian’s don’t understand why we live the way we live, and why we choose to stand up for what is right, Jesus promises that the Kingdom of heaven is ours. If we stand firm and hold to our hope in Christ, we can experience a peace that is not of this world and makes no sense to us.

This obviously doesn’t minimize the pain or the cost when people reject us, threaten us, and mistreat us. But we know that when we stand for what is right and holy God will honor that, and He will sustain us. And we will share in His victory.

So today, choose to stand for what is right and holy, even if the cost is great.