25-year-old Shanthi Gundiya was the frontrunner for her dream job, and hoped to get it to help provide for her family.
She had worked hard and scored good grades, and since the job was based on academic merits, things were looking positive.
But once Hindu nationalists learned she was about to get the job, they stepped in to prevent it from happening – simply because Shanthi was a Christian.
When Shanthi went to check on the status of her job, she learned the ugly truth.
The job officer told her that because she went to a Christian church, village leaders had blocked her.
His only advice at this point was to encourage her to seek legal action.
Upon hearing the news, naturally Shanthi was upset.
Christianity Today reported:
“I was shocked when I found out that the RSS leaders and village president had already been to the district office to block my appointment,” Shanthi told ICC. “It was hard and very disappointing to give up on this job.”
Shanthi didn’t want to cause any trouble for her Christian community, so she decided to let it go.
But the hardest part for her was giving up her dream of working – knowing her parents invested so much in her personal development with hopes she’d be the one to provide for the family.
When she went to her parents, their reaction lined up with their faith.
While they knew it would be financially difficult, they supported her decision to stick to her faith and not denounce Christ just to get a job.
Christianity Today continued:
“It was challenging for my parents,” she said. “However, I was proud when they told me not to worry about the job. They said we were not going to compromise our faith for any reason. We will continue to serve Jesus even if a good job is taken away.”
This is the mark of a true Christian.
Likely, if Shanthi had denounced Christ and gave up her Christian faith, she would have gotten the job.
And even though her family faces deep economic struggle, their hope and faith is in Jesus Christ.
All throughout India, Christians face situations just like Shanthi.
Not only are they unfairly denied economic opportunities, many of them are locked up and even killed for their Christian faith.
But despite Hindu nationalists trying to silence them, faithful Christians continue to preach the Gospel, bringing even more people into His kingdom.
India still remains on the Open Doors’s list of the top 10 most dangerous countries to be a Christian.
We must continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in India, and pray that God will continue to keep them strong in their faith, and protect them.
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