In the book of Acts there were Jewish leaders who wanted the apostle Paul dead for his conversion & missionary lifestyle. As far as they were concerned he was a traitor to the Jewish faith and since they could not stop the positive effect he was having on God's Kingdom, they decided to kill him. Circumstances led to Paul being imprisoned and left unable to travel or speak publicly to share the truth of Christ. Most of us would tend to neglect Paul at this point and pull back on the ferocity of our attacks on him. The Jewish leaders refused to do this, but were instead pushing hard for his death two years after he had been locked up.
As I read this I found myself thinking about the life of these religious leaders during those two years. What other things did they forsake in that time because they were so focused on ruining Paul? What needs in their family & community did they miss because they were consumed with ill-conceived notions of revenge? While we might agree that these leaders were overzealous it might help us to examine our own obsessions. Where do we place our passions that ends up being a waste of time? How do we reconcile these wasted efforts in light of the bigger picture of need for our families, churches, and communities?
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