Good Christian folks - please stop whining about being persecuted

When Jesus was approached by James and John who were asking a favor to be granted unconditionally he responded without making promises. Jesus just told them that he was going to be tortured and murdered. He also pointed out that he would rise again. Their response was to ask a favor.

Hey, could we please be given honored positions near you when you get to be famous? They seemed to misunderstand what they were asking. They wanted positions of respect and Jesus shared with them what that really meant. You will have to go what I am going through to be respected like that. They said they were up for the pain. Jesus told them the sad news that even when they go through all that, it is not his call who gets the place of respect.

So about persecution. Good Christian folks - please stop whining about being persecuted. If you are doing it right, you ought to be persecuted. It is part of the deal. We are not supposed to be the majority and we are not suppose to persecute others. We are not supposed to suppress or oppress others. We are supposed to deal with the persecution without retaliation. And for goodness sake, stop looking for the reward and respect.

The other fellows in Jesus's group were pretty put out by these two angling for authority. Jesus tried to make it clear - the role of a good Christian is to serve others and not be the person in charge. Using a position of power to require others to conform and obey is antithetical to the gospel and the example of Jesus. 

One more thing about persecution. When someone else has a different opinion from me, they are not persecuting me unless they try to make me believe or behave in a way that I don't want to. The iconic question about this in the USA in the last few years has been the good Christian shopkeeper who does not wish to serve someone whose looks, behavior or beliefs they find offensive to their sensibilities. Compelling them to bake a cake, sell a pizza or take a picture for those they find offensive they claim IS persecution. Those Christians are not required to change beliefs, but to behave in a way they find difficult or offensive to themselves. That is what is supposed to happen to Christian folks.

In America especially there is a powerful group of Christians who would like to reverse this formula. They would like to reverse the persecution. They want to deny housing, jobs, benefits, and even basic services to people who they find offensive to their sensibilities. That is the opposite of who Jesus is and what Jesus explained. They may call themselves Christian, but they seem far removed for the Christ they claim to follow.