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God Can Send You To Help Your Enemy - Acts 9:10-19 · If Bibles Could Talk

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Could the person you've already judged be someone whose story
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: you don't fully understand? I mean, just imagine being called
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: upon to actively rescue or, you know, mentor your most
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  Speaker 1: vicious workplace bully. Oh, wow.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that is a total nightmare scenario.
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  Speaker 1: Right. Or someone who has spent years actively trying to
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  Speaker 1: ruin your reputation. Well, our source today is an excerpt
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  Speaker 1: called Unlikely Mission, and it explores exactly this kind of situation.
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  Speaker 2: And it tackles a massive psychological hurdle. You know, we
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  Speaker 2: are looking at this ancient narrative from the book of Acts. Specifically,
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  Speaker 2: it's the story of a man named Ananias who is
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  Speaker 2: instructed to seek out Saul.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, let's unpack this because Saul wasn't just some tough guy, right?
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  Speaker 2: No, not at all. I mean, to put this in context,
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  Speaker 2: this isn't an isolated narrative. It taps into a broader
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  Speaker 2: ethical framework found throughout these ancient texts like Matthew 5,
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  Speaker 2: Luke 6, and Romans 12.
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  Speaker 1: Which are all about doing good to your enemies, I think.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly. It's the radical concept of actively doing good to
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  Speaker 2: people who wish you harm rather than just passively tolerating them.
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  Speaker 1: Or avoiding them entirely, which is definitely what I would do.
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  Speaker 2: Right. It flips the standard biological survival response entirely on
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  Speaker 2: its head.
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  Speaker 1: Because biologically, everything in your brain screams to run away
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  Speaker 1: from a guy like Saul. I mean, he was actively
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  Speaker 1: and violently persecuting Christians, which was the exact group Ananias
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  Speaker 1: belonged to.
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  Speaker 2: Right. It is pure cognitive dissonance.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you are basically being told to walk straight into
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  Speaker 1: the lion's den.
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  Speaker 2: Well, what's fascinating here is that the text captures that
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  Speaker 2: dissonance perfectly. Ananias actually argues the point with God.
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  Speaker 1: Really?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, he highlights Saul's brutal reputation. He's essentially asking if
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  Speaker 2: there has been some sort of administrative error. Like, are
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: you sure you have the right guy?
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  Speaker 1: That is amazing. I mean, it makes total sense.
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  Speaker 2: It does. The psychological mechanism at play here is just
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  Speaker 2: so interesting. Ananias is actively weighing his deeply ingrained, completely
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  Speaker 2: rational fear against a direct mandate to act.
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  Speaker 1: So he doesn't just pretend he isn't terrified.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly. He acknowledges the fear, but he chooses to step
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  Speaker 2: past his initial prejudice to fulfill the mission anyway.
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  Speaker 1: You know, that terror Ananias felt is the exact same
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  Speaker 1: visceral reaction you experience today when forced to interact with
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  Speaker 1: someone whose history makes you deeply uncomfortable.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely. It's a completely universal feeling.
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  Speaker 1: It forces you to figure out where the line is
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  Speaker 1: between reasonable caution and, you know, just letting fear dictate
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  Speaker 1: your every move. But wait, I'm kind of stuck on
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  Speaker 1: this part.
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  Speaker 2: Go ahead. What is it?
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  Speaker 1: Well, if we apply this principle to everyday life, aren't
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  Speaker 1: we essentially telling people to just drop their defenses and
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  Speaker 1: trust their abusers? Because that seems incredibly dangerous.
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  Speaker 2: I am so glad you brought that up because that
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  Speaker 2: is a vital distinction to make. The source material is
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  Speaker 2: very careful to draw a hard line there.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, good. Because I was worried for a second. Right.
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  Speaker 2: No, the text does not advocate for abandoning personal boundaries
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  Speaker 2: or ignoring genuine danger. And it certainly doesn't say to
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  Speaker 2: automatically trust someone who causes harm.
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  Speaker 1: So Ananias isn't told to go be Saul's like unconditionally
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  Speaker 1: trusting best friend.
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  Speaker 2: No, not at all. He receives a highly specific instruction
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  Speaker 2: for a specific isolated situation. It's a unique calling, you know,
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  Speaker 2: not a blanket mandate to act recklessly.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so it's not an instruction to just throw yourself
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  Speaker 1: blindly in harm's way. I mean, it actually makes me
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  Speaker 1: think of a bomb disposal squad.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, that is an interesting way to look at it.
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  Speaker 2: How so?
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  Speaker 1: Well, you don't just walk up to a potentially explosive
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  Speaker 1: device in your street clothes with blind optimism. You wear
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  Speaker 1: the heavy blast suit, you follow a very strict protocol,
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  Speaker 1: and you only go in because you have a specific,
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  Speaker 1: necessary mission to defuse the situation.
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  Speaker 2: The bomb disposal protocol is actually the perfect lens for this.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, you are operating with clear parameters and protections.
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  Speaker 1: Right. So discernment is basically your blast suit.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly. The source suggests that maintaining those healthy boundaries while
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: still remaining open to the possibility of change is the
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  Speaker 2: key mechanism at work here.
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  Speaker 1: Which makes his willingness to show up so much more powerful.
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  Speaker 2: It really does. Ananias' willingness to put on the suit
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  Speaker 2: and show up, despite the obvious threat, became a pivotal
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  Speaker 2: catalyst in Saul's massive transition into the community.
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  Speaker 1: Because he didn't just see the persecutor, right? Right.
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  Speaker 2: He operated on the specific guidance that there was potential
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  Speaker 2: for transformation.
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  Speaker 1: It really comes down to holding this delicate balance. You
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  Speaker 1: have to acknowledge the very real, very painful track record
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  Speaker 1: of the people around you. But you do it without
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  Speaker 1: cementing them permanently into the role of the villain.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it is about leaving room for grace.
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  Speaker 1: Exactly. When you are genuinely called upon to help, you
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  Speaker 1: use discernment to protect yourself. While leaving a narrow window
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  Speaker 1: open for the possibility that people are actually capable of change.
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  Speaker 2: And that narrow window, you know, that is where the
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  Speaker 2: most profound shifts happen. Which really leaves us with a
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  Speaker 2: lingering question to think about.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, what's that?
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  Speaker 2: Well, if this singular act of uncomfortable obedience helped alter
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  Speaker 2: the course of history, what unexpected transformation might be waiting
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  Speaker 2: on the other side of your own reluctance?