It is interesting how people can quickly change their minds about you. We live in a world where our social, financial, and even educational status determines how others interact with us. Have you ever met people who show kindness to others for the wrong reasons? Their kindness is conditional. They show love and kindness until they find out something is wrong with the person(s). Whether it’s past mistakes, a sickness they might have been battling, or illiteracy. Some people will switch up just because the person has reached a certain age and still doesn’t have a husband, is divorced, or cannot conceive. Have you ever met people who respected you until they found out some private information about you, which somehow made them think you weren’t worth their respect, love, and kindness anymore? You will be surprised how your circumstances can change how people see and handle you. We have made it a norm to disrespect, judge, dismiss, or abuse people based on their status, as if God’s daily love and compassion toward us is conditional. Unfortunately, this ungodly and damaging epidemic has found its way into the body of Christ. That is why many in the church today prefer to suffer in silence. Many of us may think it is normal for others to express themselves or share their personal information because that’s what brothers and sisters ought to do to support each other. Nevertheless, we fail to realize the real problem: they don’t really know whom to trust because very few are trustworthy. They aren’t sure whether they will be judged or seen in a different light because of what they’ve been through or are currently going through. We can no longer pretend that this isn’t common among us. It is easy to judge people who put up walls without considering the real reasons behind them.
Here in this story in Acts 28:1-10, Paul was sailing to Rome. There were 276 people on board, and they experienced a shipwreck, but by God’s mercy, none perished, and they ended up safely on the shore of an island called Malta. The word Malta comes from the Greek word meli, meaning honey. It can also mean a place of refuge or safe harbor. In Acts 28: 2, it says that when Paul and the others arrived safely on shore, the islanders welcomed them and showed them unusual kindness. So the people not only lived on an island that symbolizes honey, but they themselves were sweet people. However, it is amazing how the same sweet people who showed Paul unusual kindness also misjudged him. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and put it on the fire because it was raining and cold. And I’m sure Paul wanted them to feel warm too, not just himself. So, Paul started to get comfortable around the islanders of Malta; he gathered the wood, put it on the fire, and a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on Paul’s hand. Scripture says in verse 4, as soon as those sweet islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer.” This meant they didn’t even address Paul directly; they started gossiping about him. So, even though these people were kind, they also enjoyed gossiping. We face this regularly at work, in school, at home, and even at church. How many of us have experienced people smiling at us and laughing with us, yet don’t have the right heart posture concerning us? They pretend to love us, yet their heart is hardened. So, these islanders said to each other, “This man must be a murderer for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess justice has not allowed him to live.” First, they just assumed Paul served goddess justice. It would have been wise to first find out if Paul even believes in their ‘goddess justice,’ often represented by Themis in Greek and her Roman equivalent, Justitia, also known as ‘Lady Justice’. In addition, their assumptions based on Paul’s circumstances were false. Now, imagine how even today many have been labeled, mistreated, arrested, and some have lost their lives because of false assumptions. The question is: Are these behaviors pleasing to God? Scripture says these people literally expected Paul to swell up and suddenly fall dead. They even waited for a long time to see what would become of Paul. The same people who showed him unusual kindness were waiting for his downfall. The question is, what was the point of all their warm reception to Paul if it was conditional? Scripture says that when they noticed ‘Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects’, and after they waited a long time and saw nothing happened to him, they changed their minds about him and said that he was a god. Now imagine how Paul must have felt and how hypocritical their reaction was. We have also read that not all the islanders thought of Paul the same way. Verse 7 says that a chief official of the island named Publius welcomed Paul and his companions and showed them generous hospitality for three days. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be fair to judge Paul if he felt funny around the people of that island.
However, we must consider and admire Paul’s unswerving attitude toward the people. Even though some of the islanders criticized him, Scripture says Paul healed chief Publius’ father, who was sick in bed. He placed his hands on him and healed him. So, we can see how unbothered Paul was about those who misjudged him. He could have refused to do good because of his experience with the other islanders. However, Paul did not let what happened dictate his heart posture or deter him from his assignment. Paul already made up his mind and knew that he was on a mission for the glory of God. Now, the text says that after Paul healed chief Publius’ father, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. Let’s not think for a second that some of these people who came to him for healing were among those who misjudged him earlier. Yet Scripture says that the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. Therefore, Paul fulfilled his assignment without resentment or letting their criticisms and gossip hinder his purpose.
This story teaches us that people can change their minds about us, and that we often miss God’s blessings by judging others based on their appearance, social, economic, and educational status. We like to judge a book by its cover but often fail to realize that God loves to choose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chooses the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27), and He likes to hide treasures in the most unexpected places.
Always show unconditional love and kindness!
SCRIPTURES
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7: 1-2
“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” Hebrews 13: 1-3