Like a muddied fountain and a polluted spring is a righteous man who yields, falls down, and compromises his integrity before the wicked. – Proverbs 25:26, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Persecution is part of the Christian life. Some experience only verbal persecution while others face threats to their very lives. Some encounter persecution only sporadically, while others possess a steady diet of it. Regardless of the amount or the degree of the persecution, one common question applies to every Christian: how will you react when the persecution comes?

Very often, we fold when the persecution comes. Sometimes we justify the “folding.” Other times we immediately recognize that we’ve sinned by giving in – as was the case with Peter  – and we beg for forgiveness. Although God is faithful and just to forgive us when we repent, we need to realize that He looks upon our failure to stand for Him with disappointment and disdain. Proverbs 25:36 compares a person who compromises God’s righteousness to muddy, polluted waters. Proverbs 24:10 teaches us that we are weak when we fold in the day of adversity. And, verses like Matthew 10:28 and Jeremiah 1:17 make it clear that we err significantly when we fear man more than God. Simply put, God isn’t too happy with us when we allow persecution to override our dedication to Christ, and we need to understand this truth as we prepare for the persecutions to come.

When your status as a Christian threatens your job, what will you do? When your faith brings verbal mocking, how will you react? When your love for Christ prompts others to physically harm you, what stance will you take? These are questions that we all ought to answer now, for if we try to answer them at the moment of persecution, fear might lead us to make a poor choice.