WEEKEND POST: ARE YOU A PRESUMPTUOUS BARBARIAN?

Acts 28:1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.KJV

Having survived a near-death squall at sea, Paul, and the remaining people from the prison ship, made it to the shore of the island of Melita, aided by the superstitious barbarous inhabitants of the island. Everyone was wet and cold, huddling around the warmth that the kind natives of the island had provided for them. At some point in time, however, Paul went to gather more wood, and as soon as he laid the sticks on the flames, a poisonous viper, seemingly threatened by the heat, latched his lethal fangs onto Paul’s innocent hand. The story goes on to reveal that the unaffected Paul simply shook the creature off his hand and threw it back into the fire to the amazement of the natives.  

Vipers of this sort were known to be deadly, and the natives expected Paul to drop dead. Nonetheless, there is something in this event that deserves mention because it reveals a disturbing attitude all too commonly occurring in Christian circles.

In the account of Acts, the barbarian natives judged Paul as being guilty of some sort of wrong worthy of death.  In essence, they presumed that Paul must have done something serious enough to attract the serpent’s bite, and they superstitiously rationalized that since he didn’t perish in the sea’s waves, justice had found him. They reasoned: Why else would he have been bitten? He must have done something evil, so now he would die. Thankfully, they were wrong and their presumptuous judgments were incorrect. But this incident begs for our attention.

Obviously, superstitious assumptions of this sort are not unusual in tribal and primitive cultures. The people haven’t been educated, nor have they had the privilege of learning about the genuine character and ways of God. And yet, as shocking as it may be, from what I’ve observed and over heard, this very superstitious presumptuous judgmental attitude has seemingly been on the increase in the Church. I weep when I’ve heard other believers, even leaders, expressing similar reckoning about their needy brother or sister in Christ. This ungodly, arrogant, ignorant attitude manifests when they judge those who’ve suffered the hardship of devestating illness, faced repeating heartbreaking circumstances, lost homes, experienced the wide reaches of poverty, difficulty and more. They reason that the awful circumstances must be the result of  either the judgment of God or because they have some type of sin in their lives. Yet, like the barbarous natives of Melita, these judgments may be proven wrong.

Somewhere along the line, in the evolving of supposed Christian doctrine, which in fact is not, a mindset has been created that presupposes that all problems, difficulty, crisis and illness is automatically the result of sin. That my friend is dangerously superstitious and erroneous!  This type of rationale ignores some of the most basic tenants of Kingdom Truth, such as the New Birth, along with, disregarding the character and ways of God, and not practicing the fruit of the Spirit of kindness, love and mercy. Furthermore, the more that we condemn one another as sinners, and build a case according to how we interpret the laws of sowing and reaping, we set ourselves up for a future downfall. This matter, however, is not new to the human race. In fact, Jesus’ own followers succumbed to such beliefs.

John 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. KJV

Jesus’ disciples had been with Him, listening to His teachings for some time already, when the event of John 9 occurred. Even so, they, like the natives of Melita, judged a blind man they saw along the way, religiously presuming that the man or his parents had sinned and that was why the man was blind. Jesus confronted this wrongful underlying principle, stating emphatically, that neither the man nor his parents had sinned. He went on to say that God’s works would manifest in this needy life, but the man was innocent of their charges. I can’t help but wonder how the disciples reacted. This had to be a huge challenge to their attitude. Furthermore, I’ve encountered countless believers who say the same things when they hear about a fellow Christian’s difficulties, illness, loss of finances, and crisis.

How can we support one another, and truly pray in love for one another, if we’ve already assumed that they’ve done something so very wrong that they’ve opened themselves up to such difficulties? Or maybe, they have a secret sin they need to repent of? Get a life! Let’s wake up to the diabolical strategy the enemy has created. He has calculatedly infiltrated the ranks of believers and successfully turned them against each other through condescending judgment. I realize that much of the painful human circumstance is the result of a lack of boundaries, as well as human error, sin and un-repented sin. But not always!  In fact, a great deal of what the average believer faces is specifically, and only generated, by satans’ determined attempt to thwart faith, strength and the accomplishment of vision. There is very real enemy that we need to be focusing on! But, from what I’ve observed, we’d rather become the judges of another individual's possible sin or problems, rather than stand against our mutual enemy. Hasn’t the time come for us to discern  the bigger picture of this dilemma. The natives of Melita were wrong. Paul was not being judged. The serpent attacked when the heat increased, just like Satan does when we’ve done something right for God. Let’s stop presuming we know! Let’s begin to see each other through the eyes of the New Birth, and the power of the Name of Jesus!!  

If sin is the reason for the entire human calamity then I beg you to ask: Was Paul in sin when he was captured and imprisoned? Was Peter in sin when he was crucified upside-down for his faith? Were all the martyrs in the faith sinners because they died for their belief in Christ? Come on! Think this through? In our attempts to go expose and cut out the root of troubling matters, many saints have left a posture of faith and loving discernment in favor of accusative generalized formulas and diagnosis concerning people's struggles. By doing so, they’ve begun to operate in suspicion and superstition. This is totally contrary to the way’s Jesus worked because it presupposes sin is the reason for each individual’s circumstance. Look at His model from John 9!!! It’s very different!

In truth, none of us know what’s going on in the hearts of those people we call the followers of Christ, and if you believe you are so discerning; your pride goes before your soon coming fall. What’s more, I don’t believe there is any single formula or cure for all human crises. Additionally, I do know that we live in a time when we need to stand together. Therefore, I choose not to be a presumptuous, superstitious barbarian! I hope you will also make the same choice when you’re faced with hurting people!! Just remember the islanders of Melita missed it. We don’t have to be guilty of the same thing!