WHAT COMES OUT UNDER STRESS

They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?”  And they cast him out.  John 9:34

Did the Pharisees really know the implications of what they were saying?  I doubt it.  They were simply indignant that an unlearned beggar was challenging them about the most controversial subject of the day.  Jesus.  In their arrogant rage, words tumbled out.  And lest I doubt that Satan uses the mouths of even religious people, their comment goes far to prove it.  When people are threatened, if their roots aren’t deep in the Word, statements that directly violate the kingdom abound.

They tell the healed man that he was born in utter sin.  This is in direct violation to Jesus’ words, just hours earlier, to His disciples.  Jesus was asked if the man was blind because he or his ancestors sinned.  Jesus said that the reason was neither.  What came out of the frayed religious leaders’ mouths was in direct opposition to Jesus’ former declaration.  Considering that they weren’t even aware of the earlier conversation, that is telltale to Satan’s fingerprints on what they spoke under duress.

Sounds familiar to what happened in the Garden of Eden.  God told Adam that if he ate of the tree of good and evil, he would experience a death.  When the serpent came, his first words questioned God’s declaration.  He said, “You will not surely die.”

When a person is under pressure, his soul is revealed.  What is usually veiled beneath good behavior when their world is under control is laid open for all to see and hear.  Fearful thoughts are verbalized.  Entitlement is on the surface.  Arrogance  rears its ugly head.  Words spoken are usually in direct violation to the precepts of God and are used by the kingdom of darkness.

Most likely, we excuse these statements and take into consideration the stress of the moment.  “They didn’t really mean that!” That’s not always true.  Wisdom looks deeper than that. How a person really feels about life is manifested through the catalyst of pain.  That day, the Pharisees lost their cool and were more aligned with the purposes of hell than heaven.

Thank you for dealing so severely with the issues of my heart.  Amen