Persecution in Perspective

The picture at the right is that of Li Ying. She is in jail in China for being a Christian. She edited a Christian magazine and was arrested in April 2001. She has been incarcerated for over 2000 days. You can read her story here at PrisonerAlert.com, a ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs.

Her story, and those of others profiled on the website, put in perspective our American whining about how we as Christians are persecuted in the United States. We move about freely. We build huge temples so thousands of our numbers can drive fancy cars wearing fancy clothes to meet together. We enjoy tax-exempt status. We have Christian bookstores, schools, businesses, chambers-of-commerce, yellow pages, and so on. All of which operate legally out in the open. Not one of us is in danger of being tossed in jail for the sole reason of worshiping Jesus Christ. We complain about how no one at Wal-Mart says, "Merry Christmas," and that stupid little thing makes us persecuted. God help us if we really think we, in America, are persecuted. If we faced the same things that Li Yang, and others, face, most of us would renounce our faith.

The next time you think you are being persecuted, say a prayer for Li Ying.