Hearing Gladly

March 16, 2020

“The common people heard Him gladly.” —Mark 12:37 NKJV

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”” —John 7:45-49 NKJV

Wherever Jesus went, he stirred up controversy. People either loved him or hated him; the only middle ground was with those who didn’t understand him. What is interesting is who fell into each camp. The line of demarcation was pretty clear: ordinary people loved him; the elite, the educated, the politically connected hated him. Things haven’t changed much in the intervening centuries. Society is still divided into the haves and the have-nots, the privileged few and the ordinary hoi polloi, the in crowd, and the outcasts. Those on the top of the heap usually think they know better than everyone beneath them, and are willing to use whatever power and influence they have to control the masses. 

The problem is, in the long run, it’s the ordinary people who get it right. As often as not, those who spend their lives manipulating and controlling, making decisions for everyone else, promulgate solutions that have unintended consequences that only create more problems. Ordinary people have a way of sniffing out manipulation even if they have no means to counteract it. But pride still goes before a fall; those who make momentous decisions may not live to see the downside of their actions, but their children and grandchildren do.

The spread of the coronavirus has produced all sorts of reactions by those in power. Warnings and precautions are quickly being replaced by commands—the closing of schools, shutting down of businesses, and travel restrictions. Time will tell if it’s justified, but if history is any indication, the mandates coming out of Albany and Washington may prove to be killing a mosquito with a cannon. I hope I’m wrong, but right or wrong, I am thankful tonight that my security and future is in Christ’s hands. I’ll hear him gladly any day.