Is Your Skin Too Thin?

    German statesman Konrad Adenauer once said, “A thick skin is a gift from God.” A thick-skinned person is someone who is not easily upset or insulted and can withstand criticism. Like the guy who went into a restaurant and said, “Do you serve crabs here?” The waiter said, “Why, yes sir, we serve anybody here. What’ll you have?” Jesus was the only perfect, sinless Man who ever lived, but He had to be thick-skinned at times. Critics who hated and opposed Jesus accused Him of being in league with "Beelzebub....ruler of the demons” (Matthew 10:25; 12:24). These same misguided critics repeatedly accused Jesus, ”You have a demon” (John 7:20; 8:48; 8:52). But the Son of God was thick-skinned. He didn’t allow these groundless criticisms to upset or deter Him from His mission. Even on the cross He was thick-skinned enough to withstand the biting insults and sarcasm of those who “blasphemed Him, wagging their heads” and taunting Him to come down from the cross if He was really God’s Son (Matthew 27:39-40). Underneath Jesus’ thick skin beat a soft and tender heart – a heart filled with love for all men and the desire to forgive. So much so that on the cross Jesus prayed for gloating enemies who had succeeded in crucifying Him, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Thick skin and a soft heart – that combination of characteristics ensured that Jesus’ commitment to God’s will and His willingness to serve people was not determined or controlled by what other people said about Him and did to Him.

    An incident in Matthew 15:21-28 teaches us not to be thin-skinned.

Around Tyre and Sidon Jesus encountered a desperate Gentile woman whose daughter was “severely demon-possessed.” She  begged Jesus for mercy and help, but at first He “answered her not a word.” She persisted in her requests for help and the Lord at last spoke. At first glance His words sound harsh and uncaring. Using a Jewish idiom of the day, He told her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (verse 26). It’s not plain on the surface, but careful study reveals Jesus is telling the woman that in God’s divine scheme the gospel was for the Jew first, but also for Greeks (Romans 1:16; Acts 13:46). We don’t have space to discuss the theology here. The practical point I wish to stress is that the Gentile woman had thick skin! She could (and many today would) have interpreted Jesus’ indirect reference to her as a Gentile “dog” as a racial and ethnic slur and went off in a huff. But she didn’t get angry or bent out of shape. Instead, she responded with wit and resolve and pressed ahead with her appeal for help, saying in verse 27, “True, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Beautiful! Jesus may have been beaming with joy as He said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And Matthew tells us “her daughter was healed from that very hour” (verse 28). Is your skin too thin? It is if your commitment to God and His will are determined by what others say about you and what others do to you. Christians need thick skin. How thick? Thick enough to not allow anybody or anything to move you to leave Christ or His church. In that regard many prove to be too thin-skinned.

    Jesus promises a crown for those who are faithful till death (Revelation 2:10). The difference in Heaven and hell may come down to whether or not your skin is thick enough. Is your skin too thin? Honest now, is it?

by Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN