Current marketing and business
strategies urge us to capitalize on our success. When our buzz gets hot, we
need to pour more fuel on the fire and use that momentum to propel us to even
further growth. We can hear what people ask for and give it to them to win them
over. Sometimes this is fine and even wise. When people came to Jesus seeking
healing and deliverance, he gave it out of a heart of compassion and to
demonstrate the reality and power of the Kingdom of God. However, we can go to
the extreme of seeking to pander to people’s whining to the point that it
compromises our message and cripples our mission.
Jesus was never afraid to risk his
popularity to speak the truth. Notice this passage: At the very time the crowds
were increasing, he called them an evil generation. Why did he do that? In the
next sentence he said, “An evil generation seeks a sign.” A few verses earlier
Jesus had just completed another sign by delivering a man from demonization. As
incredible as it was, it was not enough. No number of amazing, miraculous signs
probably would have been enough. Jesus ultimately says the “sign of Jonah” would
be the final sign he would give, and it would not be enough. Matthew’s account
tells us that Jesus was referring to his three days in the tomb followed by his
resurrection, fitting the pattern of Jonah’s three days in the fish. As
incredible as his resurrection that first Easter was, most still did not
believe.
Once we fall into the trap of
pandering to whining, there will never be enough we can do to feed that hunger.
We need to love, care, and serve but not to boost our popularity and not in
slavery to public opinion.
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