Acts 17:5-8 Tells the story of some Jews who had become jealous of the acceptance and fame of Paul & Silas. Their message of Christ had been growing in acceptance and many prominent Jew and Greek men and women began to accept and believe in the message.
Thus, the Jews stored up a commotion dragging a gentleman, who had hosted Paul and Silas in his home out to face the people. His name was Jason.
The insecurities of the Jews were shown through their action. They were no longer on top. They were no longer the authorities of utmost importance with the hot word of the day. Because someone else was being used by God in that way, they became jealous and insecure.
They had been getting their worth from their positions as Jewish religious leaders instead of from intimately knowing and learning God. This created a war inside of them that caused them to lash out at the targets Paul and Silas who were no longer accessible, so they moved on to the next target–the host Jason.
Have you ever gotten your worth from what you’ve done only to see someone else do it better? Maybe God can be using the other person as a mirror in your life to show you yourself and your need to find your security and worth in Christ and what he says about you instead of how others accept or perceive you.
Have you ever found yourself so insecure regarding someone else’s talent or skill given by God that you sought to bring the other person down, gossiping, pointing the finger, and simply looking for faults in that person? We’ve all probably been tempted to feel this way before.
The Jews in the story sought to put someone else in bondage because of their bondage of insecurity. That is an unhealthy pattern of our weak flesh when we are insecure. Instead of projecting our insecurities on others, we should plain and simply give them to God allowing him to heal, restore, speak over, and settle us in how he made us. Unnecessary commotions and riots caused like the one above signal an inner riot where we need our own personal worth affirmed by God himself once again.
What are some things that you put into practice when you recognize your insecurities are spilling out unto others? Do you feel that you, like the Jews, in the above mentioned passage of scripture, have to be the center-point of attention? Are you willing to humble yourself and appear lesser for the sake of the kingdom of God?
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