Swell up or die?

Can anything be worse than getting bit by a poisonous snake while you’re attempting to serve the Lord? Imagine—you, like Paul, have been saved from shipwreck, and others are rejoicing with you at the deliverance God has so wonderfully bestowed upon you. With relief and joy, you gather sticks to add to the fire so that you can share the warmth with everyone else. However, you unknowingly pick up a viper with the sticks you’ve gathered, and as you feed the fire, the serpent awakens and sinks its fangs into your hand.

Nothing could be worse than that, could it?

Something my pastor said in a message about this chain of events in the life of the apostle Paul (see Acts 28) struck a chord with me. He pointed out that as we serve the Lord, not only might we run into “vipers”, but we may also experience suspicion, disapproval, and rejection from others—even from those who once applauded our efforts. What is worse—the poison of a viper or the venom of rejection?

Not only had Paul just been bitten by a deadly viper, but the islanders who welcomed the group from the wreckage less than an hour or so before now eyed Paul with suspicion. “When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live’” (Acts 28:4).

Have you ever experienced a blow to your walk of faith, and when you seek for help you only find suspicion, mistrust, and cold shoulders from those who once sought your fellowship? What was more devastating? The blow to your faith or being shunned by your brethren? Unfortunately, at times believers can be fickle when it comes to one another; they can be wonderfully supportive one day, but the next—you’re blacklisted or invisible!

When someone stumbles, the Bible tells us exactly how to deal with it. “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted” (Galatians 6:1, emphasis added). Short of a direct touch from God, nothing is more refreshing or healing than the loving restoration and open arms of a fellow Christian when you are devastated—especially when you have only yourself to blame.

However, this is not always the experience of fallen believers. Whether the fall from grace was via lust, anger, pride, or simply misinterpreting the leading of the Holy Ghost, so often the response is not gentle restoration. Unfortunately, where friendship once reigned, now suspicion, mistrust, and rejection rule, leaving the tarnished saint to feel isolated and invisible.

Paul, having experienced deliverance from death and welcoming kindness on the island, picked up a viper by mistake, and as he added his supply to the communal fire, it fastened itself to his hand. The welcoming kindness turned to suspicion. When a believer is bitten by a viper, all too often the response from those most equipped to help is not restoration but suspicious shunning.

In Paul’s case, the only interest anyone had in him at that point was similar to playing the odds in Vegas. “But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead” (Acts 28:6a). Instead of seeking his recovery, they were trying to see if he would drop dead immediately or swell up first. All too often, believers (unfortunately, myself included) have wagered their dismal predictions about a fellow Christian who made a wrong turn along the way. Restoration? Heck no! He’s off! And away the righteous saunter, oblivious to the fact that not only has a viper attached itself to their own flesh, but it has now coiled itself around their soul, as well.

Let me ask again. What could be worse than being struck by a viper while attempting to serve the Lord? What is worse—the poison of the viper or the venom of rejection?

May God grip our hearts with the capacity to see beyond the viper!

Dorothy

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35

And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. John 8:11b, KJV