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 I
suppose everyone has noticed the paradoxical conduct of people
who bitterly denounce bitter denunciations; who debate that it
is wrong to debate. It is a folly common to man.
And
it is also a human fully to glory in being denounced. "Look
how they pick on me!" "See how I suffer at the hands
of sectarian editors!" "Oh, the price I must pay for
being such an astute scholar, and writing things too deep for my
shallow persecutors!" "Like all truly great reformers,
I am misunderstood in this age." "We will bear our
burden patiently—" unless that means "quietly."
During
the first few centuries of Christianity saints were cruelly
beaten, cast to beasts, burned at the stake, because they
refused to renounce Christ. Early literature contains much
praise for those martyrs, and brethren were exhorted to repeat
their story, holding them in high esteem. But human pride and
folly existed then as now. It became necessary to warn that some
gave themselves to be slain for unholy causes. The
"Constitution of the Holy Apostles" contains this
admonition: "Neither let us be
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rash and hasty to thrust
ourselves into danger... Nor let us, when we do fall into
dangers, be fearful or ashamed of our profession." Coveting
the praise and glory of martyrdom, and believing this was an easy
way to heaven, people were mistakenly dying when they should
have been living for Christ (Rom. 12: 1). The "martyr
complex" is still with us in the twentieth century.
Various
minority groups have not had to imagine unfair treatment; but
they have sometimes worn a "chip" that invited
trouble. And genuine teachers of truth will find plenty of
opposition in the world (Lu. 6:26) without advertising for it.
Let
us learn the advantage of more positive, optimistic attitudes.
Love "thinketh no evil... rejoiceth in the truth...
believeth all things... hopeth all things." Manifested
confidence in others gives them self-confidence. By assuming the
reader wants the truth we are far ahead of a teacher who
assumes "those dummies will howl when they see this."
Yep! They will!!
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