When Right Keeps Going Wrong

Her name was Tami. She was one of the “in” kids in my high school. I knew her by sight, but I met her in the counseling room of a county-wide crusade being held in our high school gym my senior year. I was one of the counselors and she had responded to the invitation. I don’t remember if I counseled her or if she was just waiting for me to finish praying with a friend of hers. Somehow, she and I began dating (I hadn’t even met Peggy yet).

Before she became a Christian she was into a lot of stuff and the Enemy didn’t turn loose of her easily. More than once I heard her say, “Why is it the harder I try to right the more bad things happen.” She wasn’t just using that as an excuse. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone whose attempts to follow Jesus meet with more resistance.

I didn’t have the right answers, and still don’t, and the struggle became too much, and she finally gave up trying. I don’t know but I hope she found the courage to try again later in life.

Mercy Me sings a song called Move that supplied the title for this message. Tami is not the only person who has felt that way. A lot of us sitting here today have felt or may even be feeling that way right now.

Fortunate are all those who are the victims of persecution on account of being God-people doing God-things the God-way because the kingdom of heaven is their inheritance.

Fortunate are you all when they make fun of you, persecute you and make up all kinds of lies to tell about you on account of (your relationship with) me.

When they do this, rejoice and show your joy through your actions for you know that your “pay” in heaven will more than compensate you. Indeed, you have joined an elect company for all God’s messengers who came before you were treated in the same way. [Mt 5.10-12 JMT]

Let’s look at the last two of the Beatitudes.

We’re going to look at this beatitude differently than we have the rest. Instead of looking first at who is blessed and then why, we’re going to draw a series of truths from it.

There is no if about being persecuted.

We know this grammatically:

The conjunction Jesus used was when, not if.

More than that the word translated persecuted can be translated have been, are being and will be persecuted.

We know this historically: Jesus made clear that persecution simply made his followers part of a long parade of God’s messengers through history.

There is no doubt about the form persecution would take.

The word persecution includes the idea of an intentional, systematic, premeditated effort to cause someone else pain and suffering.

Sometimes the persecutions are verbal.

Sometimes it will just be mocking and name-calling.

Sometimes it will be more serious as people make up things to destroy your reputation and cause people to avoid and mistrust you, or worse. (Don’t assume every accusation you hear against a servant of God is true.)

The reasons for it are clear.

There is persecution on account of a person trying to do right (righteousness).

The Enemy doesn’t want self-centered people becoming God-people.

He doesn’t want people who used to help him out to start doing God-things.

He doesn’t want people who have changed their actions to change their attitude by doing things the God-way.

There is persecution of on account of Jesus.

The Enemy has worked very hard to convince you that you are a worthy god for yourself.

For people to have intimate relationships with Jesus diminished their usefulness to him.

Not all suffering is persecution.

1 Peter 4:15 NIV

15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.

Jesus’ instructions for dealing with it are easy to understand if not easy to do.

Persecution is supposed to produce…rejoicing.

We are supposed to have the fruit of joy not because of the persecution but in spite of it.

Furthermore, we are supposed to show that joy by doing joyful things.

Some other lyrics from the Mercy Me Song are helpful here.

“Oh, I'll keep dancing anyway.”

(The Greek word “be glad” holds the idea of singing and dancing.)

The reasons for this reaction are equally straightforward.

The persecuted shall inherit the face-to-face presence of God in the life to come.

They will be more than compensated in heaven for any loss they endure through persecution on earth.

While there are promises for the here and now in the Gospels, the promises in this Beatitude are more of the “not now” variety.

I am still fuzzy on some of the prosperity promises but how anybody could misunderstand the persecution promises is beyond me.

The question that remains is, “Why does right so often go wrong? Why doesn’t God protect me when I’m trying to serve Him?”

My honest answer is I don’t know. This is causing me quite a bit of struggle in my own walk right now to be honest.

Why would anybody want to come to Jesus if they know they are going to suffer? They wouldn’t if the choice is come to Jesus and suffer or stay away from Jesus and not suffer. But that’s not the choice. Being human is to suffer sometimes. Suffering not just because we’re human but because following the Light stirs up the darkness against us redeems our suffering. It gives it meaning.

Jim, if I’ve never been persecuted for being a God-person doing the God-thing the God-way or because I walk close to Jesus, should I be worried or consider myself blessed? I would never tell anyone to seek persecution, but you can never do right without making wrong mad. NEVER seek persecution but use its absence to take spiritual inventory. It may be that God is giving you a breather. If so, rejoice in it. If you can’t honestly think of anything you’re doing to frustrate the Enemy (he really doesn’t mind you coming to church), change your walk.