In the Sermon on the Mount, the most beautiful and instructive sermon ever given, Jesus told His disciples: "blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Then He told them: "Blessed are you, when all men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake; Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets which were before you."

Many people, to get this wonderful blessing, seem to go out of their way to ensure that they suffer persecution. There are some, for instance, that badger busy people in crowded airports, often following them in an effort to get them to buy something, and publicly rebuking them for not doing so. When people tell them to get lost, they consider that they are being "persecuted" for the sake of their religious beliefs.

Others go around door-to-door, confronting people in their own homes, in a pushy, often times argumentative manner. They then rejoice when they get doors slammed in their faces, for they believe they are being persecuted for righteousness' sake.

But is that REALLY what all of these people are really being "persecuted" for? Or is it simply that people get tired of such agressive and argumentative behavior, especially in the comfort and privacy of their own homes. It would not matter whether the subject were religion, politics, or any other "hot" topic--- No one wants to be accosted by an obnoxious know-it-all who will not take no for an answer and will not see any other viewpoint besides their own. They are not being preseucuted for the sake of righteousness, they are being persucuted for their method of doing business!!!

There was a case of a police officer who was fired from the police force. He claimed his firing was on the basis of religious persecution: He wanted to wear a gold cross on his uniform to indicate his Christianity. The department tried many concessions to satisfy him--- they said he could wear a ring with a cross emblem, or wear it on a chain inside his collar, or even pin it under his collar if he wanted, but he could not attach it to the uniform where it could be mistakenly construed to be part of the uniform.

Just think of the kinds of things that could result if they allowed everyone to pin something to an official uniform to indicate their own personal beliefs. Pro-life, pro-choice, Neo-Nazi, gay rights, save the whale....you name it, there's someone who would try to wear it on their uniform! And just imagine how those messages could be construed by anyone having contact with the police!!! It would open a Pandora's box!!!

After many attempts to reach a compromise, this man was indeed fired from the police force. But was it for righteousness' sake that he suffered this so-called persecution? Or was he persecuted for his own stubborn insistance on doing things his own way, regardless of the consequences? That attitude seems pretty arrogant to me!

Then there was the case of the soldier who claimed he was court-martialled because of his religion. Turns out he was court-martialled for reading his Bible, all right--- however, he was on guard duty at the time!!! And he had been warned several times previously that such behavior could not be tolerated. He was told that in his free time, of course he could read his Bible, but NOT when he was on duty.

I am amazed that such an obvious and reasonable requirement should even have to be stated--- nobody with half a mind would even question an employer's right to expect that their employees actually DO what they are being paid to do!!! So can this man truthfully say he was persecuted by the United States Army for Jesus' sake? Of course not! He was persecuted because of his stubborn refusal to do what he was being paid to do.

By these acts of disobedience, these people actually prove that they are NOT following the teachings of the Bible, because it tells us to serve our earthly masters to the best of our ability, and to take joy in serving. (for some Biblical verses to back up this claim, see Rom. 13:1-2; Eph.6:5; Phil.2:14-15, Col. 3:22-23; I Tim.6:1, and Titus 2:1-2, just to name a few.)

People like these do little more than hinder the cause of Christianity. They are persecuted not for Jesus' sake, not for righteousness' sake, but for their own stubborn disobedience and insistance on doing things their own way, instead of God's way. They make a mockery of the very thing they claim to uphold--- their religion is a farce.