Religious persecution still happens today. In particular, there are still areas in the world where followers of Christ constantly face hostility (many times in a violent way) because of their faith. I 
greatly admire the faithful perseverance of those who face such persecution on a daily basis.
If you are like me, you probably had times wondering if you would stand strong if somehow you had to face persecution for your faith in Jesus Christ. I would have to say that I really do not know how I will fare, but I only pray that the Lord would give me the grace to stay faithful. Then, I came across a blog by Peter Ko, a Chinese pastor in Australia. His musings caused me to give serious thought about the challenges to my devotion to Christ that I already face. The short blog is entitled “Why Satan Doesn’t Need to Persecute Us.” I pass on the whole blog to you:
By ‘us’ I mean comfortable Western Christians like myself.
The reason why Satan doesn’t need to persecute us is because he’s having such success at destroying us without persecution.
Let me put it another way with a question: What would it take to make us deny our faith? If we were under actual and severe persecution, like what many Christians are enduring at this very moment in history, what would it take for us to deny the Lord who saved us?
I ask because whatever that ‘thing’ is, you can bet that Satan is already using it to compromise your faith NOW.
Is it comfort? security? your children? your spouse? your house? your lifestyle? your pleasures? the approval of your peers?
Whatever would make us give up our faith under duress is the very thing that Satan is subtly using to entice us away from total devotion to Jesus, RIGHT NOW.
You see, the enemy doesn’t need to persecute us. He’s already succeeding in destroying our allegiance to Christ without it.
This adds an important dimension to my perspective concerning what it means to be devoted to Christ in every circumstance. Pastor Ko gives an important reminder that the comforts and privileges that we enjoy in Western society can be a powerful tool of Satan to pull us away from our devotion to Christ. The time to be faithful is now, not some future time of persecution (which many of us may not have to face anyway). May God give me the grace to stay faithful now.
—Keith Y. Jainga