Society has
become so thin-skinned that almost anything we say is perceived to be offensive
by someone or some group. Ours is the age of “political correctness.” We have
to be so careful that we don’t offend people. Within limits, I understand it,
but the movement has gone way beyond common sense in the desire to be
politically correct. In the course of an average week, we hear many things
which we find personally objectionable, outright disagree with, or believe to
be untrue. People have the right to be wrong. We should appreciate those who
challenge our thinking and force us to re-evaluate what we believe because
truth has nothing to fear from careful investigation. Truth is what we should
always seek. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John
8:31-32).
Jesus, the
master teacher, could not avoid offending people – “You are the salt of the
earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then
good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew
5:13). He was the kindest, most caring person to ever live, but even He could
not avoid offending those who oppose the truth. It was not His intention to be
purposely offensive, but, if the truth offended, the problem was not His but
those who heard Him.
[Luke 6:6-11]
By Luke 6, in the chronicles of Jesus, His ministry is in full swing.
Practically, this meant that while He had not only a following of supporters
and disciples, but He also had a company of enemies who followed Him and sought
to put His ministry to death. About this time we get a glimpse of the hateful
atmosphere these enemies sought to create for Jesus. While in the synagogue on
the Sabbath, Jesus came upon a man with a withered hand. He knew the volatility
of this situation because He knew that if He healed the man of his affliction
that He would be breaking the scribes’ and Pharisees’ personal rules about the
Sabbath, rules that God had not authorized, but rules of which they were
nevertheless very protective. Yet could Jesus not do for this man what He
could? Even if it lit a fuse of controversy, to prove Himself as the Son of God
and to healing an affliction, was He still not obligated to heal the man? You
know this Savior as I do. You know what He did. Jesus commanded the man with
the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand.” He did as Jesus ordered and his
hand was restored. You would think that anyone with a grain of compassion would
be rejoicing …but not the scribes and Pharisees. Verse 11 reads, “But they were
filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”
Try to put yourself in Jesus’ place. It is not farfetched to try this, because
one reason He came to this earth is so we might connect to Him as one who “…was
in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). What would
you be feeling? Would you be frightened? Panicky? Anxious, to say the least,
for these men were ready to tear Jesus apart, limb from limb. Even more
importantly, what would you be willing to compromise? Give into their rage,
concede and make a cowardice retreat? Well, the next verse reveals what we
should consider to be a model of what our own response ought to be when we are
in pressure-cooker kinds of situations. “Now it came to pass in those days that
He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God
(Luke 6:12). Our example – escape and pray. Escaping is fairly natural. When
under extreme stress, most people escape – to the television, to the lake, to
take a walk. However, Jesus added a necessary ingredient, He prayed. One has to
wonder whether effective stress management can be attained without prayer? I
think not (1 Thessalonians 5:12-22).
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