By Pastor Christian Mawuko
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you… for My sake.” – Matthew 5:11 NKJV
Jesus didn’t say “If” you are persecuted. He said “When.
”Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. — Matthew 5:11
Context:
This is part of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was speaking to ordinary fishermen, tax collectors, and mothers in Galilee. Rome ruled with power. The religious system loved titles. And Jesus told them upfront: Following Me will cost you reputation, comfort, and sometimes safety. But you are blessed, because heaven sees you.
He wasn’t promising that persecution feels good. He was promising that it proves you belong to Him. Persecution is the world’s reaction when light exposes darkness.
When the church forgets what we were born for persecution.
Some time ago, a gentleman was appointed Head Coach of a national football team. Within hours, a popular Pentecostal Church issued a public statement praising him as “a worthy member of our church.”
I read it and asked myself two questions:
1. Will this same Church issue a statement for every member? Will they celebrate the teacher in a deprived village who stays late to help children get to university? Will they post about the nurse on night duty, the market woman tithing faithfully, the youth who refuses to cut corners?
2. What happens when the glory fades? A few months later the coach performed poorly and was sacked. I waited. No statement came. No word of encouragement. No “we stand with our brother in this season.”That’s the danger. When the Church becomes obsessed with relevance, influence, and financial targets every month, we start chasing applause instead of the cross. We celebrate platforms but forget people. We want association with success, but we go silent in suffering.
Jesus warned us this would happen. But instead of preparing saints for persecution, some pulpits are preparing them for popularity. And when we reduce Church to crowd, cash, and clout, we neglect the essential: Christlikeness. We forget that being misrepresented, rejected, or mocked for righteousness is not a bug in Christianity. It is a feature.
The prophets of belly and clicks
Any active user of social media in Ghana knows this pattern. For years, some so-called “Prophets” have specialized in 3 things: football match outcomes, election results, and the death of prominent people.
They do it just to get people bowing to them, to build fear, and to draw crowds. Their predictions keep failing. The match goes the other way. The election result is different. The person they said would die is still alive.
But they never stop.
Why? Because their belly and money is their god. Philippians 3:19. They are robbing the name of the Lord and the Church in the mud for views and offerings.
That too is a form of persecution — not persecution of the Church, but persecution by people wearing the Church’s cloth. And it makes it harder for the real worker of God who speaks truth quietly, faithfully, without cameras.
We are in good company: a brief church history lesson
This is not new.
1. William Tyndale was called a heretic for translating the Bible into English so common people could read it. He was strangled and burned in 1536.
2. Martin Luther was excommunicated and declared an outlaw for saying we are saved by grace through faith, not by religious systems.
3. John Wesley was beaten, chased out of towns, and had his meetings disrupted because he preached to coal miners and the poor.
They were persecuted not because they were wrong, but because they were faithful. The religious systems of their day, the government, and the crowd all felt threatened by truth.
Why are people persecuted? bible + real life from the bible:
1. For Righteousness’ sake – Matthew 5:10. Doing what is right in a corrupt system.
2. For Christ’s Name – John 15:20. “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you.”
3. For Speaking Truth – Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and Paul were all attacked for confronting sin.From a sociological / psychological view:
1. Threat to Group Identity– People attack what challenges their beliefs, power, or money.
2. Need for a Scapegoat – When systems fail, they blame the faithful person who won’t compromise.
3. Cognitive Dissonance – Your integrity convicts their compromise, so they try to silence you.
It’s monday morning: 4 ways to handle persecution at work
Maybe you’re reading this before 8am. Someone has gossiped about you. A boss is unfair. Colleagues mock you for not joining them.
Here is what Jesus’ words mean practically this Monday:
1. Remember You Are Blessed, Not Cursed – Matthew 5:11. God sees. Heaven keeps record. The reviling is not the final verdict.
2. Respond With Grace, Not Revenge – “Bless those who persecute you” Romans 12:14. Don’t return evil for evil. That’s how you prove you’re Christ’s.
3. Stay Faithful in Small Things – Like that village teacher. You may not get a church statement, but God sees the students you’re helping. Faithfulness in obscurity is worship.
4. Find Your People – Jesus had 12. Paul had Timothy. Don’t isolate. Talk to a pastor, a mentor, a trusted friend. Persecution is lighter when it’s shared
A prayer for the persecuted
Father, this Monday morning, I lift up every Christian, preacher, and worker who is being reviled, lied about, or overlooked for Your sake. Strengthen the teacher in the village, the believer in the office, the pastor under pressure. Give them courage like Tyndale, conviction like Luther, and compassion like Wesley. Remind us that we are blessed, not because of pain, but because You are with us in it. Purify Your Church from the love of money, fame, and false prophecy. Let us be known for Christlikeness, not clout. And for those who persecute us, Lord, forgive them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
You are not forgotten. You are not alone. And your reward is not on Instagram. It’s in heaven.
If God puts it in your heart to support Pastor Mawuko and his work in Ghana, you can contact him directly:
Email us: cmpastorchris@gmail.com
WhatsApp/Text: 233.244225870
