Man's Public Approval Rating

by Paul Thomas

Next year our nation will be having an election for the next President of the United States. Every day on the radio and television, you can listen for a candidate’s “public approval rating.” One of the purposes of these ratings is to help people decide how to cast their vote next year. The problem is that the majority is not always right. Consider some men whose “public approval rating” were not very high, but were considered righteous people in the Bible.

Elijah was viewed as “a troubler of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17). Elijah responded, “I have not troubled Israel, but you Ahab and your father's house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals.” Elijah would often be very direct and sarcastic at times, such as when he competed against the 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:21-40), thus giving him a bad “public approval rating.”

Paul probably had the worst reputation of all the apostles. When he tried to introduce himself to the disciples in Jerusalem, the people were afraid of him (Acts 9:26). Paul was known as “weak” and “contemptible,” as well as “a creator of dissension” and a “ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (2 Corinthians 10:10, Acts 24:5). Even the “prominent women and the chief men of the city” kicked Paul out of Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:50). What kind of rating would the public give him?

Jesus often had varying public opinions. He was one who was said to have been demon possessed (John 8:48, 10:20). He was also known as a deceiver (Matthew 27:63; John 7:12). Many times when Jesus was teaching, the audience would pick up stones to kill Him (John 8:59; 10:31). Isaiah 53:3 tells us that “He was despised and rejected of men.” If Jesus was supposed to be the Savior of the world, you would think that His rating would be the highest around?

Living the life of a Christian today is not as glamorous as some may believe. If you are striving to serve God as you should, the public will see you as “strange” and speak “evil of you” (1 Peter 4:4). You will also be hated and persecuted for Jesus’ name (John 15:18-20). Regardless of what the public thinks of God’s people today, God will give you a crown if you remain faithful to the end (2 Timothy 4:8).