Persecution and Trust

On the rear of a battered car I saw a “bumper snicker” that managed to combine humor and arrogance: “If you don’t like the way I drive, stay off the sidewalk.” In spite of its nuance of humor, it trenchantly articulated the “get-out-of-my-way” mentality that underlies much of the crime rampant in our society. And for every crime there’s a victim.

It’s those countless victims of multifarious evil who most often ask the question, “Why does God allow evil persons to do such harm to others?” That very question shows how distant is the human awareness that God is still in charge, and that he actually can and does bring good out of evil (see Rom 8:28). With that basic truth out of our mental range, trusting God in the face of malicious persecution seems more foolish than virtuous.

God’s permissive will (not his positive will) allows evil persons to do harm to us, even allows Satan and demons to attack us (see Jb 1:12 and 2:6). Jesus himself was the victim of evil persons who engineered his death, and was also assailed by Satan himself in the desert. Through the centuries God has, by his permissive will, allowed boundless wickedness to flourish by the malice of humans.

Thus, rape, war, theft, terrorism, and the like are clearly not God’s positive will, but they are operative under his permissive will (see Prv 16:4). He hates such malevolent behavior, but he permits it so as not to vitiate the very essence of human nature by interfering with any person’s freedom to choose to do evil (for that would also freeze that person’s freedom to choose to do good). Yet he defends and vindicates the righteous victims: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” (Ps 37:5-6).

The soul with profound trust in God in the face of widespread malevolence sees such permitted-but-not-desired evil as part of the universal workplace of Providence--part of the “all things” that Paul refers to in his classic formulation of divine providence: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28, emphasis mine). His “purpose” is his providential design by which he enables good to come from evil, without approving or rewarding the evil itself. Souls who enjoy an ample degree of trust accept this truth, even when, like Job (42:3), they can’t grasp the divine ingenuity behind such a “purpose” (see Prv 16:4).

Our acceptance of God’s permissive will, which permits us to be victimized by burglary, rape, acts of terrorism, and the like, does not contravene our obligation to strive to prevent, suppress, or punish such crimes or acts of wickedness. Hence the need for police, courts, fines, prison sentences, and so on. Our effort to suppress evil is part of God’s positive will for us. “I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word.” (Ps 119:42). “Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men” (Ps 71:4).

The whole dynamic of the agelessly questioned problem of evil provides a most difficult challenge in practicing the virtue of trust in God. Unless we are given Job’s miraculous mystical insight into God’s plan and purpose of innocent people suffering (Jb 42:5), we must fall back on unquestioning trust in God’s wisdom and love until the Day of the Lord, when he’ll restore all things to himself. Then we won’t need faith; we’ll have direct knowledge (see Ez 6:10). As Paul puts it, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully” (1 Cor 13:12).

Real trust in God enables us to endure false accusations with the confident expectation that ultimately God will clear our names, as he did with David and other luminaries of the Bible who suffered persecution: “they persecuted the prophets before you” (Mt 5:12). A true Christian even expects persecution: “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (Jn 15:20).

Yet part of our trust in the face of such assault is the conviction that God will not let this form of suffering go unrewarded: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” (Mt 5:11-12, emphasis mine). This promise provides a crucial and very challenging test of our sincerity in trusting in the Lord. To rejoice at being insulted and persecuted is humanly impossible except for those humble souls who trust in the Lord for the “great reward”; a person who is weak in trust can hardly even tolerate with equanimity an insult or persecution, much less “rejoice and be glad.” As Jesus says, “When trouble or persecution comes . . . he quickly falls away” (Mt 13:21).