“O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard?
Are you so stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?”
Galatians 3:1-3 (NAB)
Our parents taught us never to call people names, like “stupid”. The apostle Paul’s words to the church in Galatia (Turkey) appear to lack proper etiquette, by calling them stupid. They don’t seem like words of comfort, but rather abrasive and rude. Paul always had a strong personality, long before his conversion and call to ministry. Still, it makes readers wonder if this tirade to the Galatians was really necessary.
Before his conversion, Paul was Saul, a Pharisee, who despised Christians and dragged them out of their homes to have them stoned. The Christian community was terrified of him until the day the Lord humbled him. The Lord mystically intervened, shining a bright light which literally blinded Saul for three days. Within that blinding light was the audible voice of Jesus asking him, “Saul-Why are you persecuting Me?”
Saul became a believer after that. His heart was changed, his name was changed, but his personality and temperament remained the same. God changes hearts, corrects our motives, and renews minds, while we still have the same temperament and personality we were born with.
Paul needed a strong personality for what was ahead of him. He was beaten, imprisoned, interrogated and accused by kings and governors, for spreading the gospel during his ministry as an apostle to the gentile world. His strong personality gave him the fortitude to defend his rights as a Roman citizen, which helped to deliver him from unfair treatment on certain occasions.
Understanding the natural personality traits of Paul, we can better understand his tirade at the Galatian church in today’s scripture. The Galatians were deceived by false teachings and taught others that circumcision was necessary to be saved.
Paul corrected this false teaching at the time and brought the church back into alignment with the truth, so that the gospel could spread throughout the world. Calling them stupid, seems like a mistake coming from the mouth of an apostle, but that was Paul’s temperament and God doesn’t make mistakes in who He chooses.
Everyone has flaws but God uses our flaws as an asset for the kingdom of God. He did it with Paul to keep the early church on a right path despite many false doctrines circulating at the time. God wasn’t finished with Paul yet, but still used him for ministry since the day of his conversion. God isn’t finished with any of us either, and still uses our individual temperaments and personalities, according to His plan and purpose.
God knows how to match certain personalities together, for the good. It’s very liberating to know that a perfect God wants to work with imperfect people, as we do our best just as we are.
Every personality, whether introverted or extroverted, a quiet listening type, or the bold and talkative person, each one has a unique purpose in God’s kingdom. If everyone were the same how boring the world be. We don’t need to become like someone else, because God has a place for each of us, just as we are.
What we may see as flaws and imperfections, God uses and turns into assets for His kingdom and purpose. This frees us to love God more and to love ourselves just as we are.
Lord, help us to be what you made us to be, and transform and use our personality traits to become assets for your kingdom. Amen
