God’s solution to contradictory behaviour comes through ending the destructive spiral of inner hurt and outer harm that spins people out of control. The most destructive force on this planet is not hurricanes, typhoons, or cyclones that whirl out of nowhere and destroy everything in their path, but those among us who suddenly, unexpectedly, and emotionally spin out of control and harm others.
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to resist what your heart knows to be true.” (Acts 26:14) In ancient times, oxen that resisted by drawing back received prods in the rear from sharp prods built into harnesses. Likewise, when unsaved people resist what their hearts know to be true, God prods their conscience by His Spirit, often in their quiet times. They react and hurt others, without knowing why.
An encounter with the Lord can surface the root-cause of harmful attitudes and actions, which in some cases is a deep conviction that the convicted person resists angrily. However, not everyone has a Saul-like ‘Damascus Road’ kind of conversion – “seeing the Light” and ending up face down in the dust. If the light is blinding and the power is overwhelming it’s likely because the person convicted has resisted the truth by threatening to use violence, or by using actual physical harm.
The spiral of destructive behaviour needs to end where it began – at the original point of resistance. In Saul’s case, that was Stephen’s bold witness, and his shining face in martyrdom The light on the Stephen’s face was enough to drive Saul to even more murderous mayhem, inflicting physical and emotional pain on every Jew who refused to deny Jesus. Saul did this by beating, jailing and even killing them. (Acts 7:54-60; 9:1-3). He did so in ignorance, thinking that he was doing these things in the will of God.
Three things make people act really badly:
1. The face of an angel can stir up the heart of a devil! (Acts 6:15) The light of God on Stephen’s face exposed the darkness in Saul’s heart. Jesus said, “If your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness.” (Matthew 10:23) The heart of darkness is not found in a journey upriver in Africa, but through a spiritual exploration into the dark recess of a person’s sinful heart. Leave such explorations to the Spirit of God – you really don’t want to go there.
2. No one makes you angrier than a person who tells you the truth about yourself (Acts 7:51-54). The truth hurts, and invariably, those who tell it end up getting hurt. Signs on gates warn us to beware of dogs, but Jesus warned us to beware of men (Matthew 10:17). Truth resisted can result in the infliction of lasting scars, even if the truth is spoken lovingly.
3. Nothing makes a person more dangerous than knowing that he or she has been wrong all along! (Acts 7:55-58) Why do Christians get so mad when questioned on pet doctrines? Maybe when they realize they don’t know what they believe nearly as well as they thought they did, and then feel insecure. Nothing can make you feel as insecure as an earthquake – causing the ground underfoot to ripple, rise and fall. It’s scary! If you can’t trust solid ground, what can you trust? Well, we can trust God’s truth, even if it shakes some doctrines we’ve long accepted without question!
Stephen’s witness had a part in Saul’s conviction and eventual conversion. But in between his conviction and his conversion, he harmed many Christians, often physically. In the process he harmed himself emotionally. Not that Saul was conscious of that; however, deep within him, the thoughts his mind had rejected accumulated.
“I was a slanderer, a persecutor, a violent man, but I obtained mercy, because I acted ignorantly, in unbelief.” (1 Timothy 1:13; John 16:2) No wonder that Saul later changed his name to Paul.
Those who are under conviction may be unaware of the damage their inner conflicts are inflicting on their marriage relationships. Only thorough conversion to Jesus Christ can resolve their inner contradictions. Jesus can and will stop that destructive spiral of inner hurt and outer harm! It will do so by resolving those hidden conflicts in the heart. But first, they must be willing to surrender themselves fully and unreservedly to the will of God.
“Peace,” the Lord will then say to those destructive urges – “Be still.” And suddenly things will calm down, and the heart and mind will be at rest. Conflict ceases when the restless forces that caused it are at last calmed. When the conflicts of human nature are at last calmed, the heart finds peace and quiet rest. Only the change that results from peace with God — peace through Jesus Christ can bring such peace — peace that lasts. (Romans 5:1)