We were done with elementary-school trends. Oh, we had given in to the silly-band hysteria, the Rainbow-Loom craze, and the Shopkins madness. And finally, my husband and I had said, “Enough.”
So when thinking putty emerged as the next big trend among elementary-aged kids, we weren’t having it. Our daughter Kendall’s toy bins were overflowing with the trends of days gone by, proof that all of these must-haves, these “collectibles,” end up shoved deep into bins and forgotten once the next big thing comes along.
Poor Kendall, the only kid in class without thinking putty. One of her classmates felt sorry for her and gave her a small wad of the sticky stuff, which Kendall immediately showed me and talked it up like it was the best gift she had ever received.
I told her she could have it, but only if she kept it at her desk in her playroom. The thinking putty was not to make the journey to her bedroom because it could get stuck in the blankets on her bed or in the fur of her stuffed animals. Its home was on her desk, where it couldn’t damage anything.
You can guess where said thinking putty ended up – in the off-limits bedroom, mashed into her favorite blanket and tangled up in the hair of her newest stuffed animal.
You can also guess the first words out of my mouth when she showed me what had happened: “I told you so! Why didn’t you listen?”
This years-ago memory came back to me today when contemplating Paul’s journey in Acts 27, where he is a prisoner on a ship to Rome, and he tells those in charge not to set sail. He tells them if they go out to sea that it will cause injury and loss – even their very lives.
And yet, verse 11 says: the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
So they set sail, and when the ship is being tossed to and fro and the men are throwing cargo overboard and are storm-tossed and haven’t eaten for days, Paul tells them something a bit similar to what I told my daughter after the thinking-putty incident. He basically says, “I told you so.”
Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss (v. 21).
But because he is Paul, and because he is attuned not only to the turmoil he himself is facing, but ultimately to the fact that God can (and often does) work through such storms, he goes further.
Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told (v. 22-25).
I love how Paul can go from “I told you so” to “Take heart.” Paul was suffering on that ship, just like everyone else was. And to be fair, Paul had told them not to go. But Paul was able to zoom out away from his right-now problem and see the bigger picture. He was able to believe, even when he couldn’t technically see this bigger picture. He believed that God could use this situation to do more than just show everyone that Paul had been correct when he “told them so.”
God could use Paul in the midst of this stormy situation to speak peace into the lives of these hurting and hungry men. God could use Paul to bring hope to these men who didn’t bother listening to his advice at the beginning of this sea adventure. And so can He use us – you and me, right here and now – to speak truth, peace, and hope into the churning seas and the bewildered people around us.
Some of our hearts are especially wired with this huge need for justice, and when something is unfair, when we or those we love are suffering and it’s someone else’s fault, we can’t stand it. Can you tell I know what I’m talking about? I am such a person. I am hard-wired for justice. If I work hard, I should succeed. If I do what is right, I should reap those rewards.
That’s why Paul’s ability to jump from “I told you so” to “Take heart” is so convicting to me. He is able to go beyond the fact that he is suffering because someone else made the (incorrect) choice to set sail, even after Paul’s specific warning. And if Paul could do this, so can you, Fellow Justice Seeker. So can I.
Can I tell you what I think the secret ingredient is? I think it’s humility. The kind of humility that says, “I may be right on this point, but I acknowledge that I have been wrong before, so I can forgive and move forward in bringing encouragement to others instead of just judgment.” I’m not saying this is easy for some of us. But I am saying that with God, I believe it is possible.
Colossians 3:12-17 certainly gives us a good standard to keep in mind:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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