You are Not Being Persecuted

America is a hotbed of discussion at the moment:: gun control, homosexual marriage, and abortion. I have entered into some debate on these topics. I hold opinions, some that are popular and others that are not as popular. However, I never pull the persecution card.

If a man enters into a debate with another person who disagrees, that man should not automatically assume he is being persecuted. If someone gets angry after a person speaks truth, he can't take that wound and present it before the world as a martyr scar. Christians can misapply these verses:

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12)

Americans debate and fight and quarrel. We were reared to argue and can't tame our tongues. It doesn't make us martyrs, and it doesn't make us like the prophets of old.

I have entered numerous debates where the "martyr card" was used too early in the conversation. "I am only speaking the truth and you hate me for it. This is exactly what God said would happen. People will hate Christians for speaking the truth." Often when this phrase is spoken in defense, the opposing speaker is caught off guard for two reasons.

1. The speaker doesn't hate the speaker or his message. He or she simply disagrees with it.
2. The speaker is a Christian, so they believe they are speaking God message as well.

I don't wish to deal with the second reason. I want to focus on the first. People debate. It has transpired for centuries. Theologians discussed faith to arrive at sound doctrine. Debate is not the enemy of God. There is nothing wrong with debating an issue, including abortion, gay marriage, and gun control. These debates must be done in love, with intellectual study, and prayer. When theologians or brothers or sisters debate, they don't "hate" each other. They are trying to arrive at a consensus or find some chance of unity. This is what we all want.

So, I warn you not to run to the martyr complex. You may be waging a spiritual war. You may be speaking the truth. You may have everything right and accurate. However, if you act like a simple debate of words is equal to a death on a cross, a back whipping, thrown down a lion's den, thrown in a pit, or placed in jail, you are deceiving yourself.

You may feel hurt and someone might have said something false about you or even God. However, that is bound to happen in a debate with immature believers. It is allowed within a debate. Don't call it persecution. Use it in a war or an imprisonment. Otherwise those claims of martyrdom sound hollow and without genuine love.