"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake"

Duncan Sinclair

What a tremendous ring of courage resounds through the Beatitudes of the Master,—courage calm and exultant, courage having its roots deep down in moral fiber, courage begotten of the most clarified understanding of real spiritual being that has ever enlightened humanity. The eighth beatitude is to be found in the fifth chapter of Matthew's gospel, and it runs: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for rightousness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

Now, it surely cannot be that Christ Jesus in that wonderful statement lauded persecution for persecution's sake. He who denounced evil in its every mode of practice, he who healed the woes of mankind whatever they might claim to be, through his knowledge of God, divine Principle, and God's perfect law, cannot be suspected of advocating or approving any thought, word, or deed savoring of the nature of persecution. The very thought of it must have brought a prayer to his lips for the destruction of evil. Well did he know, as Mrs. Eddy has so splendidly said in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 191), that "persecution is the weakness of tyrants engendered by their fear, and love will cast it out."

There never yet has been a benefactor of the race who has not had enemies who have endeavored to persecute him. Whenever men have arisen with moral courage enough to try to right human wrongs, they have been met by the opposition of evildoers, and have often been persecuted with all the insensate vehemence of which the unregenerate human mind is capable. Witness the line of Christian martyrs, from Calvary down the centuries! Witness the trials and sufferings of those who have literally sacrificed themselves throughout history that their fellow-men should enjoy juster laws and more equitable treatment as citizens of the nations to which they belonged. It is a truism to say that every reform which has been won for mankind, be it religious, political, or social, has been at a cost, sometimes enormously heavy, of suffering, mental or physical, or both, to the reformer.

And how is it that persecution should always bite the heel of the world's progress, trying to thwart it? The reason is not difficult to find. Christian Science declares that although good is infinite and omnipresent, evil, the supposititious opposite of good, is always claiming to be omnipresent. Hence, whenever the attempt is made to demonstrate the spiritual fact of the presence and availability of good by improving human law and human institutions so that the human family will be benefited, evil, usually claiming to act through persons, appears to rise up in opposition to the manifestation of good. And unless the reformer knows metaphysically what seems to be happening, and through his understanding of divine Science mentally neutralizes the false beliefs of evil, he will suffer.

But while persecution is execrable, indirectly it has many times been a blessing to members of the human race. Paul told the Corinthian church that he took "pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake," adding, "for when I am weak, then am I strong." The apostle voiced what the Christian Scientist in many instances has proved to be true, namely, that when he has been in difficulty, perhaps suffering unjust persecution, he has been driven to cling more closely than ever to the Christ, Truth, which Christian Science has revealed to him, thus being enabled to rejoice even amid seeming tribulation. He has proved these words of Mrs. Eddy in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 8) to be true: "Whatever purifies, sanctifies, and consecrates human life, is not an enemy, however much we suffer in the process."

It is of the utmost importance that all men should know what Christian Science teaches about the allness of good and the unreality of evil. It is of inestimable value for all who believe themselves to be persecuted to know that evil is unreal. Since God is infinite good, evil never can be real. Evil is but a false belief of the so-called human mind. Every seeming activity of evil believed in by the human mind has only a supposititious existence. Where would persecution be, were all men to realize the truth about the allness of good? Could it even seem to occur? The claim of evil is not lost sight of in Christian Science practice; but there it is scientifically met or handled as nothing, in the light of the understanding of the absolute allness of good.

Christian Scientists must be on guard. Self-pity only aids the would-be persecutor's design. The advice of our revered Leader, given on the page of Miscellany already quoted from, is deeply significant: "Keep personality out of sight, and Christ's 'Blessed are ye' will seal your apostleship."

Duncan Sinclair

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Goodness and Greatness

November 8, 1924

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