Paul the Roman Citizen

In Acts 22, we hear about how Paul was about to get owned by the Roman tribune. He was supposed to be flogged and questioned, a form of torture to elicit a confession about what he was up to. Some of us have seen caning in Singapore, (http://corpun.com/sgjur1.htm) and know how painful and cruel it can be. Well, the Roman version is 100x worse. It was conducted with a whip of leather thongs loaded with bits of metal or bone; it could maim for life or kill. Jesus was scourged with such a whip (John 19:1). (Ref: Reformation Study Bible)

Now Paul had been beaten before, but had never endured such scourging. We read in the chapter how just as he was about to be flogged, he quickly appealed to his Roman citizenship. He mentioned to the nearby centurion: "Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?"

At first it might seem that Paul had finally succumbed to his human fears. The thought of that painful whip on his back must have been too much for him. He had a way out - his citizenship, which was very powerful and highly valued in those days. (It's like if you're in trouble in school and the teacher wants to cane you and you go "oh, by the way, my dad is the prime minister") So Paul appealed to his citizenship and was spared the caning.

But we go on to read, that it wasn't because of his fear of pain. Paul was prepared to suffer and die all the way for the sake of the gospel. Instead, this appeal to his status was so that he could attain a chance to address the crowds and share Christ with even more people.

For those of us in position of power today (sports leaders, managers, bosses and employers etc), how do we use our position and status? Do we utilize or even abuse it for our personal gain? Do we glory in our position and take pride in what others think of us? Or do we even use it to gain that advantage in life?

Paul used his position for the sake of the gospel. May we learn to use whatever position the Lord has put us in to glorify His name.