Matthew 5:10-11 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

It is a blessing for us who seek after righteousness to find ourselves being persecuted for what we seek after. It is a sign of being on the right track when you receive the hatred of the world. But i must warn you brothers and sisters of the faith, that Jesus said “for righteousness sake” or “for My Name sake”. There is a thin line between being persecuted for our own actions and for His Name sake. We must be careful not to find ourselves being persecuted for doing things that are for our own benefit. The blessing of persecution only comes to those who are being tormented, reviled, oppressed or ill-treated because they seek after the Truth. It should not be because we act foolishly in the eyes of men because we seek honour and glory for ourselves or because we purposely caused offence. This then becomes prosecution and not persecution.
Blessed persecution comes to those who are ill treated because they speak the Truth, preach the Truth and are walking in line with the Kingdom of God. It comes to those who in the midst of the evil in the world set out to honour God with their continued love for their neighbour. To recieve this blessing, we need to focus on Righteousness, not self righteousness; but walking upright before God and men.