#14 People Pressure(2)

Acts 27:9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them, 10"Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also." 11But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. 12Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.

Last week we took a look at king Herod’s dilemma choosing between John the Baptist’s life or caving in to people pressure. This time we find another scenario in the book of Acts, where the apostle Paul could see that pushing out to sea at this late time of the fall season would be disastrous. He had already gained the confidence of the centurion, who was in charge of Paul and the other prisoners being taken to Rome for trial, so Paul was allowed to give his opinion. However, the majority (which included the pilot and the owner and probably most of the crew) decide to push on through to deliver the cargo before winter, leading to a climactic shipwreck.

The first lesson to be learned here is obvious:

1. Truth is not decided by a majority. I’m sure that we all have been told by our parents when we were young that “if everyone jumped off a cliff, that doesn’t mean you should too.” Truth is absolute, which is why a lot of Christians feel a lot of pressure to change their stand for what is right. William Wilberforce in England spent a lifetime in Parliament working on legislation to stop the slave trade, develop restrictions on child labor, and many other social issues of the day. “More progressively, Wilberforce advocated legislation to improve the working conditions for chimney-sweeps and textile workers, engaged in prison reform, and supported campaigns to restrict capital punishment”[1] So many times he was in the minority, but kept befriending his enemies, praying with friends and supporters, and finally changing hearts and minds to act justly towards all humankind. His reading of the Bible convinced him that slavery and mistreatment of children was inhuman, regardless of what the majority in society said.

John 8:31“To the Jews who believed in Him, Jesus said ‘If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ ”

2. When people won’t listen to the truth, pray. This story in Acts contains a surprise sentence, after the drama of the great storm that has tossed the ship about for many days, no one seeing sun nor moon, and everyone but Paul giving up hope of survival.

Acts 27:21After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' 25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.

Paul not only prayed that he would make it to Rome alive, but he also must have prayed for the welfare of everyone on the ship, given what the angel said to him. I am sure that in our lives we have been in meetings of a church, business, club, or social group, where our opinion was not heeded on critical matters. I know how hard it has been for me to turn to God in prayer so that everyone would be blessed. I need to always humbly come to God in prayer, for those who disagree. We certainly need that spirit today in our government, from local, state and in Congress.

What do you think? Click on the comment section or on the link to the blog in the email version.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wilberforce#cite_note-78