Matthew 11:16-19 Jesus spoke to the crowds, “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
As I read this passage, its message became clear to me. You can’t please all the people all of the time. What matters is that you know what you are supposed to be doing and to go about doing it. As a minister, one of the things that I quickly learned was that I could not please all the people even part of the time. In some churches and over some matters, it is just impossible to make everyone happy.
Once I realized this. I stopped trying to make everyone happy. I decided that my goal as pastor was to lead and that sometimes meant that people will not understand or be angry at me. However, as long as I know I am leading in the direction that God wants us to go, I will not get twisted into a corner trying to please everyone. (I know this sounds good in writing, but it is much harder to put into action!)
Jesus made the point in this passage that John, who refused to celebrate with the people was disliked and that Jesus who ate and drank was also disliked. Its the last verse that ties it all together: “Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” It didn’t matter what they did as long as they were true to what God had called them to do.
Perhaps its time for Christians to do likewise. Stop worrying about what people will think when you reach out in mission and ministry–just do it. The act of doing a kind deed will far outweigh the words of discontent that might come about because some folks may not like the way that you did it!
