Shame

In the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminded those who heard that we live in a
world that may not take kindly to people who follow Him. We read in Matthew 5:
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We certainly want people to like us; that's just part of human nature, I believe.  And, when we build relationship with people who are different than we, it can be a "win" for the Kingdom of God.  But, there will be those who, try as we might, will not see nor appreciate our perspective, and we can't compromise to curry favor.  But, we don't lash out or call them names or become angry; in fact Jesus said we should be of good cheer in the face of tribulation.  He enables us to respond to opposition in the Spirit rather than react in the flesh.

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When we reflect on how Christians are regarded sometimes in this world, and think about opposition
and persecution that believers in Christ encounter, remember what Jesus said in John 16:
32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

There has been emphasis on religious persecution over the past month or so, including Congressional passage of a bill that was designed to bring greater attention to international religious freedom issues. Also, the head of Open Doors USA, David Curry, joined me recently to discuss the Open Doors World Watch List, devoted to identifying the leading countries who persecute Christians.  In our conversation, he highlighted a number of countries, including some who are related to Islamic extremism.   North Korea tops the list again this year.  Curry also identified India as a country where there has been an uptick in persecution of Christians.

Another report that has received some attention is from the organization International Christian Concern, which released its 2016 "Hall of Shame" recently.  It divides the countries according to three categories: one is "Worst of the Worst," which includes North Korea, Iraq and Syria, and Nigeria.  Another is "Core Countries," which includes Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt, and Pakistan. There's a "Core Case Study" of India.  And, the third category, "New and Noteworthy," includes: Russia, Mexico, and...the United States.

A summary on the Religion News Service website quotes Jeff King, President of International Christian Concern: “We felt it was very important this year that we highlight three countries where religious discrimination and persecution are deemed unusual but have reached a certain threshold of concern. These are Mexico, Russia, and sadly, the United States,” adding, "While conditions in the US are in no way comparable to other countries on the list, a certain segment of the culture and the courts seem to be intent on driving faith out of the public square. There have been too many court cases with bad decisions to miss the clear trend line.”  The summary also notes, "Exit polls made it clear Supreme Court nominations and religious liberty were two driving forces in the outcome of the 2016 U.S. election."

The actual report, available from the ICC website, notes:

In short, Christians in the US are facing constant attacks in the media, where they are portrayed as bigoted, racist, sexist, and closeminded. The characterization in the media may be translating into direct attacks as well. The First Liberty Institute, the largest legal organization in the US dedicated exclusively to protecting religious freedom, documents such actions and reports that attacks on religion doubled between 2012 and 2015.

More importantly, Christians and all religious people are being marginalized through the law.

The report also states:

Decades of accumulated poor judicial decisions and precedents have twisted the First Amendment so that the courts, in defiance of the Founders, are pushing religion out of the public square, and into the small space of private expression. In essence, the courts are deciding that you only have full religious freedom and expression in the church and your home. In the public domain, your religious views and thoughts must be restrained and controlled. 

Yesterday was Religious Freedom Day in the U.S., and The Stream's Liberty McArtor presented an article called, "Looking Back: A Snapshot of Religious Liberty in 2016."  It features a number of events throughout the year relative to religious liberty, and includes some comments from Kelly Shackelford of First Liberty.  It also has this section about a public official sharing his view on the concept of religious freedom:

In September, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a report that called religious freedom a code word for intolerance. Martin Castro, author of the 307-page report entitled Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles with Civil Liberties, wrote:

The phrases “religious liberty” and “religious freedom” will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance.

As Stream senior editor Tom Gilson wrote in a response:

He’s [Castro’s] pronouncing conservative Christian doctrine wrong. That’s not his job. Apparently he doesn’t know that the First Amendment was written to prevent governmental officials from giving one religious doctrine preference over another.

We live in what has become an increasingly difficult climate for Christians.  But, we have to remember that we should not become discouraged.  Because we are in Him and are recipients of His joy, we can live out our faith, hopefully, in a manner that reflects that Christ is in us.

Nor should we develop a persecution complex.  Because we are not victims, even though we may face opposition to our faith.  We are victors in Jesus Christ, and we can have confidence in Him.  The opposition, well, it gives an opportunity to live the Christian life in front of people who do not understand it or accept it.

We should rightly be concerned about threats to our religious liberties, and speak out accordingly - it is important to develop lines of communication with our political leaders in order that they know how critical these issues are to people of faith.  We can be devoted to prayer and taking action as the Lord leads.