Acts 16:37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
I like spiritual. I like thinking about how the unseen permeates what we see with meaning and wonder. I like asserting that prayer is more important than human effort. But I also think Paul was a pretty smart guy and used by God and I see in passages like this one that he was not reticent to use very conventional and somewhat political measures to get things done. He played the “Roman citizen” card on a couple of occasions that we know of. Is he being petty here? Pushy? Is there some sort of pride in beating them at their own game? Or is it just the most faithful option in a difficult situation? I don’t know. I guess there is a line that can be crossed and the writer of Acts didn’t feel Paul crossed it. Still it is interesting for me that there is some room on the dig in and use the rules against your adversary side of the line, that God is on that side of the line too. This week think about the lines in your life and where God is in relationship to them.
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