Pain in the Neck

           Perhaps you have said, “That person is nothing more than a pain in the neck.” It's an expression that we have about people who are in opposition to our way of living or even our way of thinking. It is not usually a good term and denotes our distaste for people's disagreement with our own standards. I don't know of too many people who have been in a situation where everyone liked and agreed with everything they have said or done. The more definitive your theology is, they more chance you are going to be disagreed with by someone to the point that they will openly criticize your teaching. The opposite end of the whole deal is a theology or teaching that wouldn't offend anyone on the planet. My first Bible that I ever purchased for myself was a Scofield King James Version wide margin, good leather Bible. To be honest, at that time that was the only thing I thought was correct to have. In my view of future events, I was, and still am, pretribulational and premillenial in my view of Scripture. I went to a school that taught that way of outlining future events. At my first church, there was a person who was adamantly against that line of teaching and openly confronted me about my position. There was my “pain in the neck.” Second Corinthians 12:7 says, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” 

         A lot has been written about Paul's “thorn in the flesh” but it does no good however, because it is never specified as to what it was. Many believe that it was his eyesight referring to references to his vision problems in his later years. I sometimes think that Paul's “thorn in the flesh” involved a certain group of people that were often present in his ministry and going around telling people that they first had to become Jewish before they became Christian. They were referred to as “Judaizers.” It was an open criticism of his teaching and one to which he often refers to in a very negative way. Acts 15:1 mentions, “  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” I would be more prone to believe that the thorn mentioned here refers to the opposition to his teaching. Paul got his answer in the sufficiency of God's grace in all matters of life. In the end, you might as well accept the idea that not everyone likes you and your manner of life or your theology or your teaching. There will always be opposition in our lives. You will probably have more than just one thorn in your flesh. We can and should take hope in God's response to Paul as God reminded Paul of the sufficiency of His grace in all matters. You have that same sufficiency right now in your life and it helps you get through all of the “prickly” matters that you will face today and in the days ahead. Praise God today for His continual working in our lives each and every day.