Excerpt from Acts 21:17-26

"They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. . .  So do what we tell you. . . . Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus, all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law."

Reflection by Ron Buford

My mother used to say, "I'm not one to throw a brick and hide my hand."  Well . . . sometimes, you may need to hide your hands and perhaps not throw any bricks at all.

Whichever course we choose, the important thing, as Stephen Covey writes in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is to always keep your purpose in mind.  What is the best way to reach your goal?  

In this biblical narrative about Paul and the early church in Acts, we see the early "Christians," who were in fact practicing Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah, in conflict with Jews who did not believe and were honestly seeking to keep their faith from being corrupted. And then along comes Paul, rapidly converting Gentiles into fellowship without making them go through circumcision and other established purification rituals traditionally required of gentiles wanting to become Jews. By what authority did he do this?

Apostles who believed Jesus was the Messiah agreed on a shrewd strategy. Hoping to distract Paul's accusers concerning his embrace of the Gentiles, they told Paul to come to temple dressed and shaved like a strict keeper of the law. They told him to "hide his hand."

In this instance, it didn't work, and Paul was arrested.

The Book of Acts, chapters 20 to 28, shows Paul facing hard choices and shrewdly flipping between hiding his hand and being as direct as my mother, but always keeping his purpose in mind.  

Prayer

UCC forebear and great 20th century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr introduced the world to the now famous Serenity Prayer, which is perfect when we face hard choices: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."  Amen.

About the Author Ron Buford, former coordinator of the UCC's God is still speaking campaign, consults with religious and nonprofit organizations, leads workshops, and preaches in churches across the U.S. and U.K. Ron also appears in the DVD-based progressive theology series, Living the Questions 2.0.

The Daily Devotional is now on Facebook. Become a fan!

Sign up to receive Daily Devotionals

More items written by the Stillspeaking Writers' Group