Avoiding the Glue Trap

Avoiding the Glue Trap
Words of Faith 4-15-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 15
Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
[2] "Are you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate.
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
[3] The chief priests accused him of many things. [4] So again, Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of."
[5] But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

In this phase of the trial, Jesus shows us the power of responding in humility in a time of persecution. The basic model we have already seen is to answer questions by telling the truth. Do not answer false accusations or argue with them.
But why? Jesus was the Truth. Why not declare the truth in the presence of these accusers? We don't know for sure why, but apparently, Jesus had no particular interest or need to defend Himself. As a servant of His Father, only the truth before God mattered. What people thought of Him did not matter; He was wholly surrendered to His mission.
We often tend to operate oppositely where our first concern is what people think, and only second do we focus on what God will think. Sometimes, no amount of arguing will ever make a difference.
For Jesus, what people said about Him did not matter, and what Pilate thought did not matter. Engaging in vigorous self-defense would have been contradictory to His mission. The goal of Jesus was to honor His Father as an obedient servant regardless of curses, insults, or physical abuse.
Pilate was amazed because he was used to people needing to defend themselves and their reputations. Pilate had no reference from which to understand the humility of the person before Him. The Christ of God, King of the universe, and King of the Jews stood before Pilate and became of "no reputation" for our sake. No wonder Pilate was "amazed."
So, how do we respond when threatened for the cause of our faith or when false accusations are made against us?
First, be clear: We do not necessarily have a mission to die as Jesus did. This might occur in an extreme situation, but more often, we are called to LIVE for Jesus, not to die for Him. In most dangerous conditions, God desires us to seek safety!
But how do we respond when lies are told about us? How do we respond to a vicious false accusation? Precisely the same way that Jesus did. We tell the truth when asked and refuse to engage the lies. When we begin to defend ourselves, we become entangled.
Engaging false accusers is like touching a "glue trap" designed to entrap mice. Once you touch the glue trap, you will be stuck. The more you argue in your defense, the more stuck you become. The more you deflect the attack, the less you look like Jesus. The more you defend your honor and integrity, the more likely you will lose it.
Paul put it this way (we have added the parenthetical notes): Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit (that is for the sake of your own reputation and honor), but in humility consider others better than yourselves (point only to the honor of God). Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross (Philip. 2:3‑8)!

If Jesus could let go of His reputation for my sake, I would not need to defend mine. I will have done well if I can only point a little to Him and His unspeakable glory. The truth is that accusations stick to a person who defends themselves. Still, they do not stick well at all to a person who constantly and consistently points to God.
Lord, may I decrease so that You may increase. May I be humbled so that You may be glorified? May I be a servant only so that YOU may be served? In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.