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Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We have to understand that the source of all …persecution is none other than our own selves. When we find righteousness or right thinking very difficult—when we are very strongly tempted to hold the wrong thoughts about some situation, or some person, or about ourselves; to give way to fear, or anger, or despondency—then we are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake …” —Emmet Fox
In its original context, this beatitude was, in all likelihood, a reference to the persecutions of the followers of Jesus. He would have understood that even though his teachings were rooted in the Judaism of his day, that his unique interpretation of them would have continued to raise eyebrows. The scribes and Pharisees continuously challenged Jesus and his unorthodox approach.
Emmet Fox’s commentary raises a very interesting issue that is applicable to each of us now. There are those who do not understand what we teach and might be tempted to brand us as “theologically impure.” However, the persecutors that we need to be most aware of are those within our own household. The spiritual awakening results in a new way of seeing and thinking. Through the course of a typical day we find a kind of inner tug-of-war going on between our growing understanding and our old perceptions. We can think of this struggle between old and new as a kind of persecution by the old.
If you were not on the spiritual path, you would not see your thinking, for example, as a significant factor in establishing a higher quality of experience. Knowing that your thinking does play a role can produce a sting of guilt when you let your mind run rampant with fear. You are being persecuted, not by the fear but by the understanding that your out-of-control thinking—stinking thinking—is degrading the quality of your life at that moment. This is an example of being persecuted for righteousness.