Have you ever been in the situation of having to bring someone a message and have it ignored because someone else with greater charisma said something different? When I was in boy scouts one of the kids in my patrol was cooking and spilled bacon grease on his arm. I (who was his leader) was telling him to put his arm in the bucket of water by the fire, but another, younger boy, who was more popular and had more charisma, was telling him not to....and he didn't.
It is not easy to be telling the truth and have it ignored because someone else with more flash gives a false message. This is what Paul was having to contend with. But Paul decided to demonstrate his commitment by pointing out how much he had suffered to bring his message to people. Basically Paul is drawing on the idea of why would someone suffer for a lie. If the message Paul was bringing wasn't true, why would he be willing to be beaten and jailed for it? People only show this much commitment to the truth. Paul wants the church in Corinth to be able to discern between the teaching of those with silver tongues who preach one message and the message he brings. He knows that the others are better speakers and have charisma, so he points out his level of commitment to the message he brings.
Are you attracted to the good speaker who has a way with words and is easy to get along with, or do you look at the message and the commitment of the one who brings it?
I, and I guess you, too, at times, have been taking in by the smooth words of a person. Maybe they were selling me some product and I bought it because they were likable and spoke well, only to later discover that the product didn't work or really do what was advertised.
God wants us to take the time to being discerning with what we hear and believe. God wants us not to go back and forth in the wind, believing the message of the moment. We need to look beyond the messenger to the message and judge the message based on its merits and truth. Today, take the time to think about what you are hearing about faith and God. Weigh that message against the truths that God has already spoken to you and judge the message independently of the messenger. You might be surprised by what you discover...
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