Matthew 5:10
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
~ New American Standard Bible
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
~ King James Version
As I wrote in my 12 October Blog, I think that the word
“righteousness” is given too narrow an application in some commentaries
and in The Amplified Bible, with emphasis only on personal “uprightness
and right standing with God.” As I explained, the Greek word for
“righteousness” also means “justice.”
Jesus would not have us be self-centered in our pursuit of
righteousness and justice. Although it is true that many have been, and
continue to be, persecuted for their personal belief in the Lord Jesus,
many find that sharing the truth with others invites persecution, also.
Opening people’s eyes to a kinder, gentler way of living has always been
risky. There are always people who feel threatened by progress and who
will do anything to maintain the status quo. They conveniently forget
that the “status quo” may have been considered heretical or subversive
at one time; and that those who paved the way for the benefits they now
enjoy – the visionaries, the prophets, even and especially the Lord
Jesus Himself – suffered greatly at the hands of their contemporaries,
our present-day ancestors.
Qualifying as a present-day pursuit of righteousness or justice is
the on-going struggle of animal advocates to awaken people to the
horrific world-wide cruelty of the industries that consider other
animals as being “production units,” while lying to the public through
mass media – “happy cows,” indeed!!! The Bible quotes Jesus as saying
that the devil is the father of lies. (John 8:44)
44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the
desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does
not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he
speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the
father of lies.”
~ New American Standard Bible
How can anyone be aware of Galatians 5:22-23 and not make the
connection to the wholesale, unnecessary brutality going on?
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against
such things there is no law.
~ New American Standard Bible
To believe that the pursuit of righteousness and justice is limited
in the cause of humans only, and that God’s other creatures should be
excluded, is self-imposed, self-serving blindness; and so is the
persecution of those who seek to enlighten the world to these injustices
committed against God’s other creatures. It’s not the persecutors who
are going to receive the kingdom of heaven, no matter how much they
claim that God’s righteousness and justice is limited to a select group
of people. The kingdom of heaven is for those who seek to bring
righteousness and justice to the whole of God’s creation.
