Not finding what he was looking for in the culture of his own country, David E. Stuart went to Mexico. He wrote about the experience in The Guaymas Chronicles. In a paragraph, the author captured the concept of excellence in the ordinary: The taco lady wasn’t a nobody; she was somebody. And when you had eaten one of her tacos, you knew it had been made with pride. I came from a world where many ordinary folks were nearly invisible. Guaymas was already beginning to teach me special respect for those who had mastered the ordinary.
Stuart would, if alert, find the qualities of the taco lady in any country of the world. One finds ordinary persons who have rightful respect (a type of justifiable pride) so that they do well the most ordinary things. I have seen superior drivers of vehicles who have pride in their skill. I have seen waiters and waitresses that made a meal a special event every time they served. I have seen cement finishers, carpenters, nurses and bookkeepers who were worth more than they were paid in the quality and dedication they had to their work and people. The story might easily be extended from observations showing faithfulness to human dignity and worth.
The world needs far more ordinary persons than specially gifted ones who carry necessary skills like leadership, or insights, or discovery, or problem solving on large scale. The gift of helps is the common gift of common folk. It is the most common of the spiritual gifts, and usually accomplishes a type of passing on good in the pedestrian life of millions of people. We seem unable to give adequate title to the day by day faithful and giving person. The translation from Acts above used the word ordinary. Lincoln made popular the words common man, adding that the Lord made so many of them. Society tends to use citizen in a similar way, even though uncommon persons, known gifted and those serving but not reported, are both citizens.
There may be some loss of meaning for English translations of our text, loss we often have in translating ancient writings. The older translations sometimes appear to carry somewhat different denotation and/or connotation than modern translators provide. The words here are quite stern in Greek meaning. One of the words is basic to our word idiot. Elsewhere in Scripture references to ordinary, unschooled, and ignorant persons use the words a bit more respectfully than the words used here. Here the implication may be less than ordinary. This is a passage in which detractors think of God’s people not only as uneducated, but idiots in the meaning we might use today. Even if believed to be idiots, Peter and John would not be deterred. They could not deny the miracle they had just seen. That is the point, what was seen from unremarkable men could not be denied. Christians must live in the light of the holiness of God, serving the needs of others. It is not likely that ordinary persons are more or less effective in Christian life than others: the rich or poor, the ignorant or the sophisticated, the weak or the strong. Wealthy persons who give well are not denigrated for their wealth. We give what we have to give – or ought to. All God-forgiven persons have something to give to advance life. True helpers can bear personal affronts. This is of God. We can imagine the meaning when we review the objective earthly sojourn of Jesus.
God’s courtroom will ring with different references and documentations than that of mankind. God relates his evaluation on Scripture, faith, and faithfulness to personal righteousness. It is a different way of thinking, appropriate to the plan of God and his love. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020