Around 63 BCE, as the Roman republic was expanding and becoming an empire, the Roman General Pompey undertook various campaigns of war & subjugation. He conquered Judaea, enslaved Jews, and carried them away in servitude. As they were forced to abide in Libertum, Cyrene, Cilicia, Alexandria, and about Asia Minor the enslaved Jews and their descendants became Hellenized - Greek exposed and cultured - but they were able to hold on to the faith of their fathers. In fact, it can be argued that their staunch adherence to their Judaism was what kept them within their identity as Jews. Can you imagine what it would take for any people to be invaded, enslaved, and transported against their will - maybe like they're trying to do do in Texas - maybe it was called an "involuntarily relocation" by the attacking, enslaving, degenerate men-stealers and their children - taken to a strange land...Can you imagine what strength of will it took for them to retain their Jewishness? Their faith, traditions, and practices keep their minds through their abusive marginalization, oppression, and exploitation? They had to hold onto what they knew just to survive and be who they were. Eventually, because Roman enslavement - evil as it was - was not always for life and wasn't passed generationally like the chattel enslavement of the 2nd American holocaust foisted upon African peoples by Europeans. These Hellenized Jews were freed and worshipped together in synagogues of freedmen, as Libertines - not to be confused with the incontinent. These were anything but. They very much believed that all Jews needed to rigidly follow all Jewish rules and traditions because that's what brought them through. Old time religion. Do it like I did it, like Mama & Daddy did it, like Grandma because if it was good enough for me, it's good enough for you. People said & say that to me in the church. But I need to tell some people, "I'm sorry, but I'm not you."
The scriptures immediately previous to the text I read recount the selection of 7 men who would serve in the management and distribution of the infant church's resources. We regard this as the template for Deacon election. There's no controversy of their qualifications or decision making. The Apostles tasked the church to choose from among them their most faithful, their wisest, their most led by the Holy Spirit members. Let me say that any church - every church - chooses from themselves those that represent the true character of that church. That was a faithful, wise, and Spirit filled church. They chose faithful, wise, & filled. And so when church doubts its deacons, tries to manipulate the deacons, or second guess the deacons, it really doubts, manipulates, and second guesses itself. Like it is with a spouse, if you don't trust them you either can't be trusted or can't be trusted with making decisions yourself because you make bad ones. *Learn to trust who you choose by becoming trustworthy enough to make choices!*
The church chose 7, but Deacon Stephen, full of faith & the Holy Ghost, was surely somebody's preacher. He went to those of the Libertine synogogue, people with a recent history of pain and hurt, recently freed from man, to deliver them from the bondage of the law, preaching Jesus and Him crucified! The wanted to convert him to their way. But he had already found a more excellent way - the Way. No doubt his heart was open & he was empathetic to their pain. But I have come to know that hurt people tend to hurt other people and if anything is going to get better for everybody, we have to acknowledge your struggle and you have to lay down all of the things that are keeping your mind where it always has been and be delivered from yourself! I love you! But I don't want to be you! I don't want you to be stuck on your last blessing when God is ready to take you beyond where you are and into who He's calling you to be!
Now make no mistake about this: Those of that group were Jews but they weren't the church. They were connected to people in the church by proximity, ancestry, & history. Sometimes we have to beware of people who are connected to the church but are not the church because they have an agenda that is not quite the same as yours. They want you to act like them. But I'm so sorry. I'm just not you!
1. Keep Your Charge vv9-10, Jesus gave His church a charge to preach the gospel - to be HIS witnesses, not our witnesses. We preach HIS life, death, burial, and resurrection. We do not preach our experiences as the way of salvation.
2. Keep Regard Of Custom v14, In order to have empathy for the ones you're trying to help, you have to know where they're coming from. You have to understand what they've been through and why it is important to them that they cling to their ways & customs.
3. Keep Your Cool v15. No matter how they rail on you, talk about you, say you're not who Jesus said you are, keep your cool. People's opinions don't change who you are. And when God said you're saved.