We’ve had some great feedback and discussion this week through the blog, facebook, and email. Thanks for participating. I do see this whole thing, this blog as being interactive and one big discussion group, so keep your thoughts coming!
We’ve talked this week about the temptation leaders face when they start to become really good at what they do, or at least when they start drawing attention to what they do – we start to like the attention, the glory, the celebrity, and so the pursuit of those things competes with the message or the vision you are so committed to. In Acts 14, Paul provides us with one more lesson, a test of what we are really all about. It’s not a fool-proof test, there are some really dedicated fools out there, but it’s a pretty good one. I like to call it “The Beat Down Test.” After responding to being called a god by turning the focus and the glory back to God, some shady people enter the picture. They rile up the crowd, who moments earlier had been calling Paul the god Hermes, and they stone him to the point where the people think they have killed him! So they drag him out of the city and leave him for dead. Fortunately, Paul’s friends come and clean him up, bandage his wounds and, I imagine, offered him a ticket on the next bus out of town. But Paul goes right back into the city, right in front of the people who just tried to kill him.
So here’s the “Beat Down Test.” Paul got beat up but because he was dedicated to the message and the vision and NOT his glory, so he went right back at it. All of us have gotten beat up, maybe not physically but definitely verbally, mentally, and in every other way. How do you respond? If celebrity, pats on the back, and any of the other things we’ve talked about this week are driving you, you probably aren’t walking back into that city. You’ll find another city where you can find people who will appreciate how special you’ve convinced yourself you are. But if you are 100% committed to your vision and to God, like Paul, you respond to the beat down by risking another one. No one likes taking “The Beat Down Test,” but there are few things that better help to test your real motives.
What are some other tests, and how can we learn to overcome The Great Struggle?