29 November 2010 Devotion for Today “When People Do Not Know What to Do with You” Acts 22:22-30
22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” 23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. 28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. 29 Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. 30 The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.
In this somewhat amusing story of bureaucratic bungling, the Apostle Paul is arrested on trumped up charges for stirring up a riot at the Temple in Jerusalem. Paul had been given an opportunity to address the crowd once again, to help them understand why he was there and to proclaim the truth about Jesus. But the crowd did not want to hear the truth. Instead they called out for Paul’s blood. The Roman guards, fearing Paul would be killed by the crowd, took him into custody.
There is something about the human mind that is closed off to the truth when it does not want to be convinced otherwise. This is a form of blindness. It has nothing to do with the eye organ or neuro centers of the brain affecting physical eyesight. This blindness is emotional, even spiritual. We prefer to believe lies if it is more convenient to us than the truth; especially if that truth is threatening to us. We will even react to the truth with violence, even bloodshed if we are affected in such a way. I have even seen family members turn on one another because of this. Paul experienced this first hand from the Jews who rejected him. After he was arrested he was about to be beaten by the cruel Romans. This was standard policy by the Romans to make an example out of anyone who inconvenienced them. It was also their way of demonstrating their contempt for the Jews and other conquered peoples. They mistook Paul for being a classless trouble-maker, and were determined to make him pay for it until Paul invoked his citizenship. The brief exchange between Paul and the commander is comical. The commander is startled and realizes he could get into big trouble for abusing a Roman citizen and denying him due process. He wonders what other credentials he possessed that he did not know- something that could easily have threatened the Roman commander’s career: especially the fact that Paul was born as a Roman citizen, whereas the commander was naturalized and had to pay a lot of money for it. No one seemed to know what to do with Paul, so he was released on his own custody so that he might appear before the Sanhedrin.
Do you ever find yourself, like Paul, in situations like this where no one knows what to do with you. A certain group will hate you because of what and who you stand for. Others are indifferent to you. Still others, like the Romans, will not know what to make of you. They may admire your Christian character and even like you- but not well enough to want to be friends with you. Subsequently, you will not get many invitations to parties or other social activities. This is why we must value our fellowship in Christ with other Christians. They are our family when the world has rejected us. They are our source of support when others shy away from us and do not know what to do with us.
Do people not know what to do with you? If that is the case you probably are closer to Christ than you realize. Do all that you can to demonstrate Christian integrity and character so that if people get upset with you it will not be because you cannot be trusted. Believe me, they will be looking for a reason. Don’t expect people to be easily swayed even by your most convincing testimony. Just expect spiritual blindness to be there, and don’t get frustrated with them. It is Satan who puts those blinders on. Just keep your attitude and heart sweet and leave the rest up to the Lord and stay close to Him.
Prayer: Dear Lord, often I find myself in situations where people don’t know what to make of me. This may be a good thing, but sometimes it hurts because it is so lonely. Help me to understand that this is just part of the price I pay for being a follower of Jesus Christ. It cannot hurt nearly so much as what You have been through. Help me keep that in perspective as I battle the loneliness and the treatment this world gives me.
Have a blessed day!
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