The Going Price to Kill a Pastor is $250.00…
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 : By Dan Miller
Chelsea Schilling of WorldNetDaily is reporting that a certain Hindu extremist groups are seeking to blot out Christianity from the state of Orissa in India. The extremist groups are offering money, food and alcohol to anyone who murders Christians and destroys their homes. Faiz Rahman, chairman of Good News India, said Hindu militants are targeting Christian leaders and “The going price to kill a pastor is $250.”
Questions
How do you approach this as a Christian living thousands of miles away? Do you feel good that you don’t have to face treatment like this? Do you wonder why God would allow this? Do you get angry?
In I Peter 3:9-16 we find help in sorting through the mental questions that gather with issues like this.
9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
To the author there are four things a person can do when persecution gets thick:
1. Determine to not allow the evil that is being done to you dictate the response from you (vv.9-11).
It is such an easy thing to meet force with force. It is so easy the writer warns us to not simply not do it (since we need to react in some way) but actually fill the need to respond with a particular response - blessing. See the best from God for those who persecute you. In this way you will get the support of the Lord of the universe.
2. Resist the natural urge to be filled with fear (v.12).
How? Trust that the “eyes” and “ears” of the Lord are open to your situation and that He is against those who are committing evil.
3. Regularly (sometimes moment by moment), commit yourself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ (vv.13-15a).
It is because of His name persecution comes and it is, therefore, imperative that you see His Lordship (worth) greater than the pain you are enduring. Whenever His worth (lordship) drops below your pain level, you will see a greater inability to endure persecution.
4. Watch for God to draw people to himself through your actions (15b-16).
As we experience God’s grace even those who hate us will naturally be curious as to how we could possible not strike back in force or lash out in anger. it is during those times that we are to raise the banner (in “gentleness and respect”) of God’s love expressed in Christ to us. In this way even the most evil actions can advance the Kingdom of God.
What an amazing God we serve! When we are weak it is then that He is strong. Pray for our brothers and sisters in India.
About The Author
I have been married to an amazing wife, Vicki, since 1992 and together we enjoy pouring into our six kids the greatness of our God. My favorite food is Italian. I enjoy playing 80’s metal riffs on my guitar. I love all the major sports (except soccer, but that’s not really a sport anyhow). My favorite sporting event is the Final Four tournament in March/April. I think the best season of the year is the Fall. I would love to be hiking and camping on some trail right now.
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One Comment
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I just read this post today. What an incredible perspective, which I agree with whole-heartedly. For me, with lots of therapy experience, this sounds like healthy boundaries.
By reacting to persecution with what you know to be true (God’s word) instead of reacting based purely on your emotions about it, you affirm your faith in God, show others you really mean it, and, I believe, will be encouraged by God and strengthened to endure what you have to.
When you react to persecution based on your emotions (fear, anger, etc) the message you communicate is that your faith is not truly resting in God and your boundaries between Christian life and worldy/secular life are feeble.
Sarah : December 31st, 2008 at 12:22 pm