Earthly Perks: Acts 22:23-29

    As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the commander ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and questioned in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?"

 

    When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "This man is a Roman citizen."

 

    The commander went to Paul and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?"

    "Yes, I am," he answered.

 

    Then the commander said, "I had to pay a big price for my citizenship."

    "But I was born a citizen," Paul replied.

 

    Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

 

In some ways, we’re supposed to count our earthly lives as worthless compared to the surpassing greatness of the heavenly lives we’ve been given (Philippians 3:8). Actually, that pretty much goes for everything about our earthly lives. Everything is fading, it is passing away, it is worthless, and in the end it means nothing.

 

But the things we have on earth are still blessings from God. We can still enjoy them and their benefits.

 

Paul was known for getting beat up. Left for dead. Thrown in prison. Sometimes it seems as though every time he opened his mouth, people imagined him saying, “Hit me hard.”

 

And he endured it. He even said that he delighted in these painful trials, because they made Christ’s power more evident (2 Cor. 12:10).

 

But that did not mean that Paul’s aim was to get flogged. He didn’t have some sort of twisted need to be beaten and stoned. It wasn’t as if he woke up every day saying, Let’s see how I can get people to hurt me today. Even though his pains and persecutions proved Christ’s strength, Paul didn’t think that Christ would be less glorious if he managed to avoid a beating. He accepted earthly goods from God as blessings, and he took advantage of them at times.

 

Like here. Paul happened to be a Roman citizen. Did he value his Roman citizenship as much as his heavenly citizenship? No way! He would gladly have given up his Roman citizenship to be a citizen of heaven. But God had blessed Paul with a Roman citizenship from birth. And in this situation, it came in handy. It helped Paul avoid an unnecessary beating.

 

The Roman soldiers wanted to find out from Paul why the Jews were upset with him. They thought that beating and interrogating Paul was the way to find out. But the Jews were upset with Paul because he stood for Jesus Christ and the gospel. Paul was more than happy to share Jesus and the gospel with the Romans. They didn’t need to beat him to find out why he drove the Jews crazy. So Paul used the earthly blessing God had given him – Roman citizenship – to avoid an unnecessary earthly pain.

 

Father, thank You that You haven’t reserved all our perks for heaven. Thank You that here on earth You also give Your children good and helpful things. Thank You that You don’t expect us to walk through every day in a living nightmare, constantly suffering and broken. Thank You that You give us earthly perks – food, shelter, family, friends, cars, phones, computers, citizenship in our countries – all kinds of things that make our lives easier. Help us to enjoy these blessings and to take advantage of them when we can. And help us also to see clearly when these things are getting in the way of our relationship with You. Help us to treasure You so much more highly than any of these earthly blessings that we willingly give them up to follow You. You are the greatest blessing among the many You have given us. I love You.