Three Practical Lessons Revealed from a Crowd’s Poor Behavior

I know several valid reasons why people call me Fancy Nancy. Most people began calling me Fancy Nancy because I love jewelry bling. In addition, I also earned the name because I wear coordinated outfits, I adore shoes, and boy can I shop.

Fancy Nancy Fashionista

Recently, I realized I my fashionista tendencies are anchored in a fear of being seen as less-than. When I was little my family didn’t have excess finances. My mom kept my clothes neat and clean, but I was very aware I didn’t dress in the trendy styles.

When my children were little, my sweet Pastor husband and I lived on a tight budget. So, I became the Queen of thrift store shopping. I proudly wore the outfits I created with my small amount of money.

Years passed and my sweet Pastor husband and I moved from a tight budget to a cushioned budget. I gained freedom to purchase clothes and shoes from stores that didn’t include the word discount or thrift in their title.

Facing My Fear

I became aware of my fear of being viewed as less than when I began to decipher why I was judgmental of what others wore. Over the years, I created a habit of criticizing others, pushing down my fear that I would be seen as the one who was lacking.

God brought all this to light as I studied the book of Acts, specifically chapter 22.

Paul and the Crowd

In Acts 22, Paul tells his conversion story to a crowd of Jews who wanted to kill him. Paul grabbed their attention by speaking to them in Hebrew and telling them how he was similar to them in their passion for God’s Law.

The crowd listened with curiosity and respect as Paul told of his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road. However, when Paul mentioned God told him to preach to the Gentiles, the crowd lost control.

“They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, ‘Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!’ As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air, the commander ordered [Paul] to be brought into the barracks…”

Acts 22:22-24a, CSB

I find the crowd’s reaction unnerving. They were “good Jews”; people who followed the Law with great dedication. They loved the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength. I struggle to comprehend their tendency toward violence. From my point of view, they responded with excessive hatred.

Me and the Crowd

I didn’t want to see myself in the crowd, but I did. They were zealous to follow God’s Law. However, their zeal took them to a bad place. I love to dress in cute clothes and be creative with my wardrobe. But, my zest to fit in and be acceptable took me to an unhealthy place of being overly critical and judgmental.

God, in His wisdom, led me to examine the crowd. He revealed three practical lessons we can learn from the cranky crowd.

Lessons from the Crowd

1. Separate Behavior from Emotions

On the flip side, we can also be overwhelmed by our emotions and act unwisely, even cruelly. We must balance emotion and rational thought. We can allow emotions to motivate us, while not allowing them to dictate every choice we make.

2. Be Curious

Second, we must be curious. The crowd didn’t ask any clarifying questions about Paul’s statement. When they heard the word Gentile, they jumped to conclusions. They were unwilling to examine their own perceptions and wonder if God had something new to teach them.

When we choose to be curious, we are not judging. We are learning. Curiosity opens the door to new experiences, fresh creativity, and unique insight.

3. Focus on Honoring God

The third lesson we learn from the crowd is shift from focusing on right behavior to honoring God. The people in the crowd believed the right behavior was to avoid anyone who didn’t fully obey the Law. They were to be a distinctive people, set apart from everyone else. However, their commitment to this “right behavior” led them to call for Paul’s death. They weren’t seeking how best to honor God; they were intent on following the rules.

We read many passages in the New Testament that teach us appropriate behavior. For example, love your neighbor as yourself, forgive as the Lord has forgiven you, speak the truth in love, and adopt the same attitude as Jesus. As believers, God calls us to live and act in particular ways.

However, when we focus only on outward behavior, we move toward legalism and away from the freedom Christ died to give us. If we live with a legalistic point of view, we lean toward judging others instead of living curious. When we choose to opt out of curiosity, we get overly confident in our point of view, and we progress toward reacting from our emotions.

Be Welcoming

God generously provided a simple phrase to help me in my personal crowd control. The Spirit gently whispered to me, “Be welcoming.”

God asks us to release our societal structure of ranking others as bad, good, better, and best. He calls us to be more interested in people over accomplishing tasks or maintaining our self-image. The Spirit leads us to reflect the very nature of a loving, forgiving, gracious and generous God.

Be Different from the Crowd

Allow me to speak honestly, acting differently from the crowd is never easy. If we are to be welcoming and accept others who are not like us, we must trust the Creator. We must specifically believe He made each person in His image, and He values every person He created.

God sees me and He is proud of me, He values me. God also sees you, and He delights in who you are, and the unique way He wired you to influence this world. All of us are image-bearers of the King of Kings, and He welcomes every individual to His Kingdom.

Each of us has the choice to be like the crowd or be like the King. We successfully exhibit the same attitude as Jesus when we use our emotions wisely, live with curiosity, and seek to honor God with our behavior. When we live with a welcoming attitude, we bear the image of our King.

Welcome Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash