The Temptation That Comes With Attention, Applause, and Affirmation...

This week, we are looking at a miraculous story that is recorded for us in a letter in our Bible called the book of Acts. I this story, a beggar who had never walked before was miraculous healed by God through Peter and John, who were two early followers of Jesus. Luke, who was the author of the book of Acts, tells us that the beggar responded by doing something that he had never done before, he walked himself into the temple with Peter and John jumping for joy and worshipping God.

Now imagine being a person that was in the temple courts that afternoon. Imagine the scene as you walked this man who had never walked get up and walk, run, leap and rejoice all the way into the temple. For years you had seen this man sitting outside the entrance to the temple begging for money. And now he is in the temple praising God with two guys who picked him up off of the ground and told him to walk. What would you be thinking? Luke shares the crowds response in what we read next:

And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.

Luke tells us that the crowds were filled with wonder and amazement. You think? Now this word amazement conveys that sense of having such a profound emotional experience that one is at the point of being beside oneself. The crowds were astonished and amazed as a result of the unusual events that they had seen and heard about. They were at a loss to explain what had happened. And as Peter, John and this beggar emerged from the temple after the service, the amazed crowds did what people who are beside themselves in amazement do; they ran toward the three men.

You see, the crowds recognized that before this beggar met Peter and John, he was lame, he was a cripple. And now, after meeting Peter and John, he was healed, he was healthy, he was whole. The crowds recognized that Peter and John were the ones who were new to this man’s story. And the crowds believed that Peter and John were responsible for the unexplainable. The crowds believed that Peter and John were responsible for the miraculous. The crowds looked at Peter and John in the same way as we look at rock stars or professional athletes. The crowds were captivated be Peter and John and were extraordinarily impressed by what they had seen and heard.

And it is at this point that Peter and John were faced with a decision. And that decision involved how they were going to respond to the attention, the accolades, and the praise that they were receiving. How were they going to respond to the glory that they were getting. “Wow you guys are awesome! You totally healed him! How did you do that? What else are you guys able to do?” Peter and John were faced with the same decision that you and I can be faced with as followers of Jesus.

You see, Peter and John had been used by God as the vehicle to reveal His Son Jesus. And while God does not normally use you and I to do make the crippled walk, God continues to use His followers as the vehicle to reveal His Son Jesus to the world around us. As we live our lives in a way that genuinely and authentically followers the message and teachings of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, those around us take notice. They take notice and they often respond by engaging. They engage us with questions: “How is it that you never seem to get angry when things go bad at work like the rest of us do?” They engage us with compliments: “Boy you guys seem to have such a great family” Or “hey, you did an awesome job with your presentation” or “you are so smart, you always seem to get straight A’s”. They engage us with attention that results in praise, approval, and glory.

And it is at that point that we are faced with the same decision that Peter and John were faced with. How are we going to respond to the glory we are getting? Are we going to absorb the glory that we are receiving from others? Are we going to ignore the glory that we are receiving from others? What are you going to do with the glory that we are receiving? If we are brutally honest with ourselves, our natural inclination is to be glory hogs, isn’t it? Our natural inclination and desire is to absorb glory, to bask in glory, to allow glory to wash over us like a refreshing shower. We love to be in the center, we love to be the focus.

I know that is my inclination. I know that my selfish and narcissistic nature apart from Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s activity in my life is to want to be a glory hog. I mean, it is great to receive glory isn’t it? It feels good, it enhances our self esteem. And there are times that I struggle with the temptation to be a glory hog. And, we all can struggle with that temptation, can’t we? The glory that comes from attention; the glory that comes from applause; the glory that comes from affirmation.

And because we struggle with temptation to absorb glory, we often respond to that temptation by ignoring glory. We ignore the attention; we ignore the applause; we ignore that affirmation. But is ignoring glory any better than absorbing glory? Is there a third way, a right way of responding to the glory that people attempt to bring our way? I believe there is. And it is in Peter and John’s response to the glory that they were getting that we see this third way revealed to us.

Tomorrow, we will look at their response that reveals this third way...