Persecution - NOT for Righteousness Sake

Mike McKinley of 9 Marks has an important post on persecution that comes for the wrong reason,

He responds to Acts 5:41, saying,

"We read that after the apostles had the tar beaten out of them: Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

As believers, we are necessarilly going to have a lot of distance between us and those who don't follow Christ. We live differently, love differntly, hope differntely. We're citizens of a different country.

But it might be helpful if we limit the distance between us and the world in a lot of other ways. We don't have to flaunt our lack of a TV and be weird and preachy about grinding your own grain. That only serves to put unnecessary distance between us and the people we're trying to reach. Instead, we should try to engage the world around us, know what our neighbors care about, and try to inhabit the same universe they do.

If they are going to persecute us, let us at least be for things that really have something to do with being a Christian."