Paul the Babbler

An observation that I've made is that the Lord's way often looks upside or backwards (or both!) when you are seeing it from a worldly perspective. That's because, if we are looking from the world's perspective... we are upside down.

When the Apostle Paul rolled into Athens... a few years back... Athens was no longer the peak of all civilization it had once been. But it was still an important place, especially if you liked to have ideas and think thoughts. Idea having and thought thinking was all the rage in Athens. The idea-havers and thought-thinkers would tell you they were pursuing ultimate truth. From what I read in the Book of Acts, I think they were deceiving themselves. They had long since confused actual, immutable, real, truth with very new zingy and trendy or really old and important sounding.

Acts 17:21 - "Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new."

The idea havers and the thought thinkers fell into two main groups (and lots of other smaller groups). There were the Epicureans and the Stoics (Acts 17:18).

The Epicureans basically believed that life is about what you feel... and because they weren't totally dumb... good feelings were better than bad feelings. So, if something felt good, that meant it was true-ish. Many of the Epicureans valued good food, good company, good humor, and good stuff. They wanted to keep from feeling too cold, or too hot... because neither feels very good.

The Stoics were basically very... stoic. Life is not about feelings at all. Life is about rational thought. You must follow reason and logic and remain completely unmoved by your feelings inside or your circumstances outside. (Something tells me there were more Epicureans running around than Stoics) The Stoics didn't even enjoy being stoic, the two founders of the Stoic school even took their own lives.

These two mindsets weren't new then and have continued on under many names and behind many defenses since Athens. They were upside down then... and they are upside down today. Both are deeply focused on self... and by extension leave little room for any real love.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 - History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

Then Paul shows up.... and he carries a message of truth that IS different. To an upside down world, Paul's message sounds... totally upside down!  Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler say?" (Acts 17:18)

Paul, the babbling idiot, had come to tell how God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life. Paul explained that the Son he was talking about is Jesus... and the proof of the message is that after Jesus was unjustly killed, God raised Him from the dead. (Yes, this is an unprecedented event... which is why it is suitable proof of something happening that was totally unique.)

Later in his life, Paul sends a letter to some of the neighbors in that same area. He writes, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." - 1 Cor. 1:18 When he wrote this, it could be that Paul was remembering when he was called a "babbler" by the idea havers and the thought thinkers of Athens.

Does the gospel seem upside down to you? Does the message of the cross of Jesus Christ seem backwards? If so, check your perspective. Are you standing in the world... or among those who are being saved?

After hearing Paul, the idea havers and thought thinkers said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." But it never happened. They didn't hear Paul again... perhaps they weren't truly listening in the first place. This is how the idea havers and thought thinkers of Athens missed out on the REAL truth.

The busy world of idea having and thought thinking can be a wilderness. In the wilderness, it's easy to get turned around, inside out, and upside down. Sometimes we may feel sure of ourselves or think that we are correct... and be walking away from the Outpost, instead of towards it. Being confident is not the same as being right.

... Maybe I'm just babbling...

John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.”