Is the world worthy of you?

The assassination of Pakistani Minister for Minorities, Shabaz Bhatti, came during the same week that the imps of the Westboro cult in Topeka announced they would quadruple their protests at military funerals across the U.S. Baptist Press also tells the story that same week of 23-year-old Afghan Shaoib Assadullah who faces torture and possible execution for professing Christ as Lord.

Conspicuous courage and sacrifice should put lesser things in perspective. It makes the ravings of a cult seem smaller in my eyes. My ephemeral disgust for religious tyranny, as well as the tyrants themselves, is also less important than the heroes who steal the spotlight every time.

I do not here make an absolute correlation between Christian martyrdom and patriotic sacrifice. Serving, even dying for one’s country does not by itself gentle a man’s condition before God. It sometimes reveals it and is by definition a noble humanitarian act. That said, the callous lack of pity shown by the funeral protesters is foreign to anything that should be called a church.

The contrast between military funerals and martyrdom, and the cruel faith of Westboro “Baptist Church” and the Taliban is stark as dark and light. So is the difference between what a free country tolerates and what is allowed by barbarian nations.

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 8-1 that Westboro has the constitutional right to say horrible things to those who attend the funerals of fallen U.S. servicemen. And that’s just what they vow to do. No doubt the justices detached themselves from the odious behavior of the Westboro cult members in order to safeguard other speech less wicked but still unpopular. I can see the point in this diligence. Face it, some American opinion makers find too subtle the difference between Westboro and those who “merely” believe the Bible to be true. For them, the Ten Commandments are often “hate speech.” So also John 14:6 or Romans 1. The Court likely did us a favor by seeing the difference between righteous and wicked, and legal and illegal. Only God can designate someone righteous; he has allowed governments of all sort to define what is legal.

He gives us a pertinent description of the righteous in Hebrews 11:35-38. In speaking of those who lived and died by faith, the writer’s rhetoric soars:

“Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented?of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.”

I find that lovely phrase “of whom the world was not worthy” challenging. They didn’t fit in; the faithful follow a Lord against whom the world overwhelmingly rebels. The world is too often worthy of me, as I think it is perfectly worthy of those whose highest aspirations seem to be death or a nasty and cruel pursuit of media attention.

Without a doubt the world is unworthy of the faithful and righteous. This famous chapter also tells of those who did not die a martyr’s death. But each of them ultimately followed God without reservation of even their precious flesh. The unnamed heroes in the passage quoted are in the spotlight of Heaven, much to the eternal shame of their persecutors. In our age also, those who hold the promises of God more highly than earthly comfort or even life judge the unrighteous world in a way that words fail to express. Why else would the godless so hysterically fear what they can never control, the free conscience of another?

Devilish religion becomes monstrous when it rules any nation. This is not merely about Islam?it’s happened with other religions, including an occasional version of Christianity. Some seem willing to give their own lives, and take the lives of others, for the promise of a reward that is little better than what the wealthiest among us already have. The promises we receive are of another sort and are made sure by transformed lives not energized by deception, threats, or hatred.

We receive grace sufficient to the need God has placed before us. In some cases, a Christian will face scorn, rejection, job loss, financial hardship or some other serious trouble for his faith. Those who face those troubles may find them as fearsome as even death. Those who persecute us for our faith in even these penultimate ways are evil in their deeds and show the world it is unworthy of us. These small crossroads of courage may empower us to faithfully persevere through greater trials. Isn’t that the testimony of God’s faithful servants in history?

I say all that to ensure that we do not consider our own call to be less vital than those who languish under the persecution of evil nations. Our own endurance also matters to the kingdom of God in ways we do not know. Verse 13 of Hebrews 11 tells us that “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them.” They didn’t know how important their faithfulness would be and were content to let God make much of their succession of daily sacrifices. They avoided the trap of judging eternal significance for themselves. Self-diagnosing, we get to decide how important it is or isn’t for us to obey this time?we’ll show up when it really matters. From the news story, I believe Shabaz Bhatti didn’t live that way. He gave his life to Jesus up front so the little sacrifices that followed were parts of a whole that God alone could see.

The wicked come in all shapes and sizes, as do the faithful. The solution to the Taliban is to make disciples in all places. The same answer will end the shameful Westboro cult. Make them disciples of Jesus and they will do better things with their time. No human force or law can do more than move the players around.

Truth is, our Master is the one of whom the world is not worthy. To the degree that we represent him, we are privileged to share his glory in a very inglorious world.