When the Sirens Sing

Scripture – Acts 5:27-32: ²⁷Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ²⁸“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” ²⁹Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! ³⁰The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Reflection: – Here is the crux of life in the early church and life in the church still today. The Jewish leaders had given very clear, strict orders. The apostles understood God’s direction led them in a different direction. And in the face of that, they chose to obey God.

There are many places in the world today where Christians face that decision in relation to overt persecution. The choice to obey God puts them at great physical risk. I thank God I don’t face that here in the USA.

At the same time, the siren song of our culture constantly calls me to compromise my faith. The temptations, subtle as they are, are always around us. City Hall, for example, wants the church to be a gentle, non-disruptive presence in the community. If we stick to that, we enjoy some clear advantages in our local community. The compromise, of course, is that we abdicate our prophetic call.

What are some of the costs that come with obeying God rather than the culture? How do you experience that tension where you are?