Our Responses

             But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.” (Nehemiah 2:19-20)

 

Yesterday, I noted that what we’re reading in Nehemiah is in “minutes” form. Here’s another example. Sanballat and Tobiah “mocked and ridiculed” them. We don’t read any of the mockery or ridicule. What is recorded is the serious legal charge made against them. Later, Nehemiah records comments about a fox jumping on the wall would collapse it, but here, he records only the accusation that they were rebelling against the king.

Nehemiah had carried letters to the governors from the king, and at least one letter to Asaph, who was in charge of the king’s park, directing that they give safe passage and supplies to Nehemiah. He arrived in Jerusalem with soldiers as his escort. Of course, those little details are dismissed by the detractors.

 But what is as important is Nehemiah’s response. He records nothing of the mockery or ridicule beyond noting that it was there. A few days ago, we discussed the idea of knowing who our enemies are when it comes to our goals. Just who they are may differ from goal to goal. We’ll have enemies, frenemies, friends, and supporters. It may be wise to determine levels of responses and even write them down and practice them. It might sound like a huge pain in the neck to make a chart listing responses and consequences for each category of person and response but like so many other skills, it takes attention and practice at first. Included in this list should be what will allow someone to transition either closer or farther, from enemy to frenemy…friend…supporter or from supporter to friend, frenemy, or enemy.

The tough part is that questions and comments from each group may be similar and require a different response. An enemy questioning your loyalty to your king or family may not care about that loyalty except to manipulate you. A friend who  asks some of the same questions may actually care about you and your relationships. They will listen to your answer and with their response, show whether they are a friend or need to be moved to frenemy status.

In general, the closer the person is to enemy status, the less time and effort should be spent responding. This is the level the Pharisees and Sadducees held with Jesus. At every opportunity, they questioned His loyalty to God, to Jewish leadership, and to Rome. His family were frenemies, declaring him to be crazy and showing up to collect Him and take Him home where he belonged. His disciples tended to range in the friends category, but Peter’s immediate response to His statements about His goal to go to Jerusalem and die moved Peter out to the level of frenemy. God and the angels were Jesus’ supporters, along with some of the women who followed Him. Of course, after the resurrection – after Jesus’ goal had been achieved, things changed. They can. They do.

Similarly, we can choose our status with regard to other people’s goals. With regard to enemies, Nehemiah's policy seemed to be to ignore ridicule and mockery, but respond to serious legal threats. But here's another important key. He didn't trot out all the legal permissions he had for them to be doing what they did. He didn't answer the charge at all. Instead, he declared his hope in God, "The God of Heaven will give us success." He declared their intent to what God had called them to do, "We, His servants will start rebuilding." And he placed them firmly in the enemy category, "But as for you, you shall have no share..." 

I know that it all sounds like a lot of work, but hard work at the beginning may make the rest of the work easier.