(from my journal: Tuesday, August 14, 2007)

Peeved or Persecuted?

I got to thinkin' the other day about all the religious people who have come to accept a certain "thing" as "the "right thing", or even "the only thing".

You know, somehow they've gone through a step-by-step process to arrive at a conclusion and it becomes another commandment.

Thou Shalt....
or Thou Shalt Not....

Of course, it's not what Scripture says.
But they can tell you the whole logical process they arrived at to get to that conclusion.
It's flawed.
But they don't want to know.
They know what they know and that's just that.

And as soon as someone disagrees with them,
they pull out a "persecution card".
Like:
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9

It always seemed so.... I don't know, silly? maybe.
To call it persecution if someone simply disagrees with your interpretation is a bit much.

And it's sad that their next step is to gather all their buddies and gang up on the supposed offender.
Hateful things are said.
Shunning begins.
And so it goes.....
All the while claiming Christ and persecution.
Ironic.

Then I read about those who are tortured, or even murdered, for their faith and it makes all the petty stuff seem so much more petty.

"Why on earth would men and women leave the comfort of their homes and the safety of their homeland to put their lives at risk in order to aid strangers in a foreign country? For many it's hard to fathom. But for Christian missionaries throughout the ages, it can be summed up in two words: "Love" and "Obedience." Love for Christ and for their fellow man. Obedience to the Great Commission." (Fools for Christ's Sake)

Which reminded me of this: