The Bereans were called noble by Paul because they checked out what he preached against Scripture. I agree with that, everything we say should be checked out against Scripture. But the wording in Acts is very specific. Acts 17.11 says “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character… because they examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so”. Notice they did not examine the Scriptures to see if these things were not so. Their outlook was positive, they were looking for the good in what Paul preached, not the bad. They were not heresy hunters, they were truth hunters.
To succeed in life, you must become a truth hunter. Paul later told the Thessalonicans to test everything, and to hold onto the good. Do not hold onto the evil, but hold onto the good. Forgive the evil and hold on to the good.
A few years ago a man came to me after I had preached. Now there is a certain walk every preacher learns to recognize, it is called the “I am going to sort out your doctrine right now” walk. And this man was gunning for me. He got to me and said “You said a thing today that I did not agree with”. I said “That’s awesome news to me” which surprised him. I continued “I have said let’s say 100 things in my sermon today, which means we are 99% in agreement, that’s such a high percentage, that rarely happens with anyone, we are like brothers, like twins, let’s hug” and I hugged him, which took all the wind out of his sails.
Of course – if you look – you are going to find that one thing you disagree with in a sermon, a preacher, a church, a business, a song, a wedding, a funeral, a child, a boss, an employee. But if you instead look for the good – the world will be a better place. If you are constantly sowing “looking for the good”, you will find people look for the good in you. That’s worth it alone, but the other side of this is you start to find the good in others. And then you find some real treasure, treasure you need to complete your mission in life.
God has hidden your success in other people, so you better change your focus when you look at them. God gave the Bereans the message of salvation for Paul, it’s a good thing they looked beyond him and found the treasure. Selah.
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