“SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD”
Putting aside our assumptions and biases with the aim of understanding the perspectives, feelings, and needs of others removes the barriers that keep us from communicating or sharing our perspectives. How should we interact with those with beliefs and ideologies that are significantly different from ours?
We are continuing our look at God’s love for us and his plan (his mission) to bridge the gap between us and him. His mission is to bring us back into a loving relationship with him. He wants us to become His disciples and members of his family.
Thus, He calls for us to respond to His love. But our relationship with Him does not end with His call, for a call without action from the one being called has no value. His call is for us to share the good news of salvation with all people. How do we put aside our prejudiced ideologies to do this?
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Sabbath School Daily by Dr. Brenda Ware Davis
Let Us Inviting God’s Presence:
Holy Father, when dealing with others who differ in belief, help us by the power of the Holy find the common grounds needed to lead them to you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
God’s Mission, My Mission
(Lesson 10)
Mission to the Unreached
Part 4: Paul and the Unknown God
Paul sought to understand and then to be understood.
The Lord calls for us to meet people where they are, to agree with them wherever we can, but not deny the truth…There is common ground where we may meet those not of our faith, where we may agree on principles and in regard to the lesson of Christ. Few will become combative over these holy principles.—Manuscript 104, 1898.
Paul did just that. He didn’t trouble the Athenians about their false religion or false gods. Paul looked for whatever good he could find in their beliefs. Then, he used those things as his talking point to help the Athenians understand the Good News about Jesus.
Acts 17:22, 23 reveal the method Paul used to touch the hearts of the Athenians.
Although their religion had misguided them in every way, Paul did not begin by talking about how wrong they were. It says that.
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;
(Acts 17:22).
In other words, Paul complimented the Athenians for being religious.
Yes, they worshiped false gods. Yes, they believed in many gods. But Paul did not disrespect and dishonored their faith. He found a positive talking point and used that as his basis. He saw that they were spiritual. Therefore, using that as a common ground, Paul continued,
23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
(Acts 17:23).
You see, Paul took notice of the Athenian religion. Showing respect for the people of Athens, He didn’t denounce their religion.
He did not rush in proclaiming himself the expert, although he was the one who had the answers the people needed to make positive change.
In other words, Paul could have come in bragging, saying, “Hey, I’m the expert!” I know what y’all need.
But, If Paul had done that, it would have been a major turnoff for the Athenians.
Instead, Paul showed the people that he cared for them and desired what was best for them. He sought to understand their perspective, needs, and feelings.
Then Paul proceeded to tell of the “unknown god” (Acts 17:23).
The Athenians believed in God; in fact, they believed in many gods. (Split)m
So, their belief in the Unknown God was a great starting point, for it gave Paul a common ground on which to start.
Paul took advantage of their existing beliefs and used them as a way of getting into a deeper conversation about the True and Living God.
Paul did not scold them for building an altar to the unknown god. They built this altar to the unknown God because they wanted to make sure they weren’t missing something.
Thus, rather than ridiculing them and making fun of them, Paul showed that he respected and appreciated them for caring enough about spiritual things to go the extra mile to worship something they were not sure existed just in case they were missing a god.
There is no doubt that these people were misguided. But Paul knew this was not the time to address what they were doing wrong. The important thing at the onset was to help them understand who they were devoted to.
You see, Paul understood that the most important thing was their belief in the Unknown God. He recognized that their other misconception, about doctrine and other beliefs, could be handled by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Like Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, without condemning those who believe differently from us, we must find a talking point that will arouse the interest of those who believe and think differently from us.
What approach did Paul use to tell the Athenians about the Unknown God? Read Acts 17:24-27 and Romans 1:18-25 Then continue to the next segment of this video, Part 5: Introducing a New God
God’s Mission, My Mission
(Lesson 9)
Mission to the Unreached
Part 5: Introducing a New God
Once Paul got the attention of the philosophers in Athens. He directed his audience to the God of heaven.
Acts 17:24-27 tells of the approach Paul takes to reach the Athenians.
24 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; (Acts 17:24-27)
Caring enough about spiritual things to build an altar to a god they didn’t know, Paul’s words thrilled the Athenian’s hearts. They were excited to learn what Paul had to tell them. His words were intriguing. Paul told them of a Creator God who does not live in a temple made by human hands. He made it clear that instead of humans supplying His needs, God instead supplies human needs.
For a culture immersed in Greek mythology, to hear this was very important. The Greek legends of gods suggested that the gods weren’t very pleasant to humans. Stories told of the gods revealed that they were unpredictable, self-centered, and cruel. Thus, the Athenians believed that they couldn’t trust their gods to help them.
But Paul, in contrast, presented a God who was amazingly attractive and fascinating.
Paul told the Athenians about the God they didn’t know. He let them know that He was Someone that they could get to know. More than that, he let them know that God wants people to know who He is! Thus, the men of the Areopagus took their first baby steps toward a God of love.
What approach did Paul take? How did he seek first to understand, then to be understood?
For lack of space, Paul at the Areopagus most likely spoke much longer than the few words Luke shares. But when we examine Paul’s speech, we find that it has five parts:
- Paul first complimented the Athenians for their belief and their spiritual awareness.
- Next, Paul showed the Athenians that he studied their beliefs and shared with them the things that he learned and what he respected from what he had learned.
- Then Paul told the Athenians that he discovered something about their religion that they said that they didn’t understand.
- After that, Paul told them about the aspects of God that they desperately needed. The Athenians needed to know that God exists and that He loves them and is not far away.
- Finally, at the end of his speech, Paul tells them what would be the consequences of them rejecting the knowledge about the God they didn’t know.
Paul took them as far as he could, based on what he knew about what they believed. This was progress!
The love of Christ is a golden chain that binds finite human beings who believe in Jesus Christ to the Infinite God. The love that the Lord has for His children passeth knowledge. No science can define or explain it. No human wisdom can fathom it. The more we feel the influence of this love, the more meek and humble shall we be.—Ellen G. White Comments, in The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1141.
Thus, Paul’s appeal to the created world and to God as the Creator is significant in drawing people to Christ. What were Paul’s final words to the Athenians, and how effective was his approach? Read Acts 17:24-34 and then Continue to the next segment of this video, part 6, Crossing a Line.
God’s Mission, My Mission
(Lesson 10)
Mission to the Unreached
Part 6: Crossing A Line
Did you read Paul’s final words to the Athenians in the court on Mars’ Hill found in Acts 17:24–34?
Notice that Paul uses some quotes from Greek writers in his speech to the Athenian people. These Greek writers, having written something close to biblical truth, gave Paul the opening he needed to take them to the next level. Paul used his familiarity with their beliefs to find common ground. He used the familiar to take them to the unfamiliar.
In seeking to reach others, obtaining some understanding of their perspective, of what they believe, and seeking points of common ground can be a powerful tool in reaching them.
Paul uses ideas that he and the Athenians both agree upon so that he could help them understand the Good News about Jesus, who was raised from the dead to save them. Paul wanted the Athenians to understand what this hope about Jesus meant to them.
Was Paul’s speech convincing?
The Bible tells us that some people made fun of the idea. Some people, however, believed and said they wanted Paul to tell them more about the idea of a living savior.
What’s most important here is that everyone paid attention to what Paul was saying. They listened to him. That was Paul’s hope from the start.
Paul’s method of working among the Athenians and his strategic use of what he had studied and learned of them, opened the door for them to listen to what he had to say with an open mind. Thus, they learned that a God existed whom they did not know but who had created them. They discovered that this God loved them, and he wanted them to get to know Him personally. So, they took their first baby steps toward a God of love.
When the Athenians did not know better, that is, in the time of their ignorance, God showed them mercy. But they were made aware that the day was coming when God would judge the worshippers of these false gods.
The proof of God’s future work as Judge was Jesus and His resurrection.
The people heard and understood Paul’s message. Now, it was up to them; they had to make a choice to outright reject it, or they could investigate the matter further.
As a matter of fact, we find in Acts 17:34 that some did become followers of Jesus.
34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dio-ny-sius the A-re-o-pa-gite, a woman named Da-ma-ris, and others with them. (Acts 17:34)
Of course, some people will reject what we have to say. They will reject the Good News about Jesus. But that should not stop us. God has called us to do everything possible to help them understand. Then, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction, and it is their choice to accept.
Here is the challenge.
Challenge #1: In prayer, ask God for guidance on how to share the Good News about Jesus with someone you know.
For those up to a greater challenge.
Challenge #2: Using social media as a possible “Areopagus,” explore ways you can share the Good News about Jesus on social media using such platforms as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TicTock, and so on.
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