In my morning devotions I have been reading the book of Acts. This is one of my favorite books of the Bible because it is such a typical mans view. There are not a whole lot of details, little discussion on feelings, and a whole lot of action, even a little bit of sarcasm. I really appreciate good sarcasm. Like in Acts 26:28-29 “Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” The message translation says “except, of course, for this prison jewelry!”

In the later chapters of Acts (which I was reading this morning) we find Paul in the midst of some heated debates. By heated I mean people want to kill him. As I was reading I found some pretty interesting similarities in a few of these situations and was also a part of a sermon I heard this weekend.

In Thessalonica Paul delivers the message of a risen Jesus and with a spark of jealousy a mob is formed and a riot is started. Stay tuned for the characteristics of a mob. Acts 17:3-5 “He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women. But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd”

In Ephesus Paul was delivering the same message and the business men who were making money from the sale of models of the goddess Artemis did not take to kindly to their prophets being cut into. There concern was not based on Paul preaching against Artemis, but that he was preaching for Jesus. People were awakening to a new understanding and so they would no longer need 100 models of Artemis around the house. So one of the business men named Demetrius does what any ethical, rational business man does (sarcasm)… forms a mob and instigates a riot. I want you to look at some of the characteristics. Acts 19:29 “Soon the whole city was filled with confusion.” Acts: 19:32 “Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.” Acts 19:40 “I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.”

You will notice that the characteristics of a mob are mainly confusion and shouting. Before we get discuss the mob mentality I think that many arguments that we have with other individuals involve a lot of confusion and shouting. If we feel a conversation rapidly heading into an argument I challenge you to ask for a few moments to collect your thoughts. This time will allow you to clarify your position and release some tension that may be getting in the way of communication. In addition you can clarify the real issue(s) and what needs changing. The hard part is to also evaluate what part of the issue is your responsibility. By taking this time you will be able to discuss challenging issues with less emotion and better understanding. It doesn’t hurt to pray for the other party also.

Now on to the mob mentality…Often times when we have a dispute it is easy to form an angry mob and start a riot. Even though I am in complete agreement for standing up for what you believe but forming an angry mob is not the answer. I heard a Pastor (Bill Lenz, Christ the Rock Community Church) tell a story this weekend about a church he served at that was located across the street from an abortion clinic. One Saturday the church was holding a Pro Life rally and the whole thing turned into media circus. It was very hot that day and the Pro Life supporters began to distribute cold water to the “crowd” which had gathered in front of the abortion clinic. While delivering the water Pastor Lenz started a conversation with a gentleman. Come to find out this man was a homosexual. The Pastor was intrigued by the fact that there was a gay gentlemen protesting against a Pro Life rally. He tried to discover why the gentlemen was there due to the fact that this debate was in no way going to effect his lifestyle choice. Eventually, with some joking conversation, the man stated that he was there because he didn’t like the church.

Even though the angry mob in that story was represented by someone other then the church, how often are we guilty of the same thing? We are quick to jump on a band wagon to boycott a group’s products or services based on some mass e-mail we received from a fellow believer. I can’t tell you how many of these e-mails I have received over the years that with a few minutes of research I found to be inaccurate. Had I blindly joined the mob I may have found myself shouting, but not really knowing why I was there. There are countless other examples of “Christian” mobs that operate everyday.

I can only assume that the homosexual man in the story was angry at the church because of a mob mentality. As Christians, we can get too caught up talking about all of the problems in the world and not spend time spreading the answer to the problems. This was Paul’s example and think we can agree that Paul was pretty successful at spreading the gospel.

As I was challenged this weekend, I challenge you to “Stop shouting and be a voice”.