“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.”
- Matthew 5:11-12 KJV
One method of attack that the enemy uses to manipulate the mind and enslave the emotions comes in the form of creating false guilt and playing the sympathy card. In using this tactic he tries to persuade God’s children to believe that they’ve done something wrong by taking a firm stand against the wicked deeds of those who are working under evil influences. He will even go so far as to use people who profess to be Christians to make petty threats and false accusations against them, all in the name of Jesus, of course. Thus He seeks to deceive them into believing that their conduct is not approved by God, when, in fact, it is in agreement with the Scriptures. The purpose behind all of this is actually twofold in that he seeks to get those who are being faithful to God to flee from carrying out their responsibility to admonish those who are in need of correction, while at the same time keeping those who are not being faithful to God in the dark. Hence killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.
Don’t fall into this snare! Rather, continue to call sin by its rightful name; make no apologies for doing what God has called you to do. We aren’t here to make people feel good; we’re here to enjoy God’s presence. And no person, no matter how important, should be given ground to stand in the way of keeping us from doing that. Satan is a liar, and he knows that his time is short. Therefore he’s going to do all that he can to get you to cower in the corner when you should stand tall for Jesus. Fear not! For greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Indeed, the enemy will try to play with your emotions; he will even go so far as to use people who are close to you to beat you up with your past. But he will never be able to pluck you out of Jesus’ hand.
No matter what happens, don’t let anyone manipulate you into changing the role that you’ve been called to fulfill in service to Jesus Christ. If Satan reminds you of your past failures, remind him of his future. If he sends people into your life to hurt you or causes those who are close to you to turn against you, don’t fight with them; instead, turn to Jesus. Cast your cares on Him who loved you and gave Himself for you. Stand strong in Christ! Never let Satan or those who are under his power put your light out. And don’t play by their rules either! Instead, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44 KJV). There’s no glory in fighting fire with fire, but great honor will be given to those who endure to the end. Therefore don’t give up!