Scripture Verses that caught my attention today: Acts 5:33-39 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. 35 Then he said to them, “Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. 36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”
Observation: A wise person comes forth.
Application: We could certainly use some more Gamaliels in the world. He appears to be one who is willing to entertain new ideas, but does so by testing them over time and in comparison with other ideas. He realized that, if the apostles were not from God, there was really nothing to worry about and that if they were from God, he didn’t want to be against them.
These days what we see over and over again, particularly in politics, is the use of fear as a weapon and motivator. In some ways its an extension of a fundamental shift that almost all forms of media undertook probably 20 or so years ago (maybe more). Media used to report the news (as in what had happened). These days, more often than not, the Media’s definition of ‘news’ is what might happen. And since, in almost any given situation, there’s always a chance that what might happen might be bad, guess where the headlines and articles usually place their focus? It’s little wonder that many politicians follow suit.
In the days of the Apostles, that’s what some of the religious leaders were doing as well. They bought into a climate of fear instead of rationality. Thankfully Gamaliel rose up with a more balanced point of view.
Prayer: Lord, it actually takes a lot of confidence and a life deeply rooted in you in order to not be easily sucked into a fear mentality. Keep nurturing us along in those directions. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Scripture Readings today included: Malachi 3 and 4, Psalm 148, and Acts 5)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment