When I was a student at Texas Tech I majored in two areas of study — Public Relations and Political Science. It was always my intention to become involved in politics. In short, I wanted to become the next Governor of Texas. At some point, I might still have to try to make this happen because it was part of my pitch to get Leah to marry me.
Public relations and political science are actually quite similar. Both deal with how you present and communicate a set of ideas or product. One of the overriding differences is publicity. Some PR professors will tell you that any kind of publicity is good. Political science professors will tell you that a bad endorsement or bad publicity can cripple not just your campaign, but cripple your career. The apostle Paul was very aware of the danger of a bad endorsement.
Turn with me to Acts Chapter 16. I would like to focus on Acts 16:16-24. There is a slave girl that is making money for her owners as a fortune teller. The fact that she had made a lot of money probably indicates that she was pretty good at her job. As Paul and the other disciples enter a place of worship, this girl recognizes them and begins to follow them. She continually exclaims “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept it up for days. Now, you may be wondering why that is a problem. Here you have a fortune teller that probably had a good record of being right (based on the fact she made a lot of money for her owners) exclaiming that these group of men were servants of God and that they could tell you how to be saved. Where’s the harm?
The harm comes from the fact that she was a fraud and Paul knew it. Pay special attention to the language she used to describe them. “Servants of the Most High God…” Recognize that? Turn over to Mark 5:7 and see if you see a similarity. This girl was possessed by a demon and Paul was deeply troubled. Why? Because an endorsement by a demon is still an endorsement by a demon. Just as this demon proclaimed them to be servants of the Most High God, the next day the demon could proclaim something false. Paul commands the demon out of the girl and causes Paul and Silas to be stripped, flogged and thrown into jail.
Brothers and sisters you better believe that the Devil knows who is righteous and who is not. Evil people will greet you with a smile and shake your hand and tell you how great it is being a Christian. Be very aware and do not fall into their trap. Just as Paul could not afford a false endorsement from a demon, neither can you.
May God bless you and keep you this week,
Matt
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