You there! Yes, you—you who are politely reading this over a cup of coffee. I have a question for you. Have you ever been called… a pest?

No, no, not the mosquito type, or the neighbour’s kid who presses every doorbell. I mean a perfect pest. The sort that causes fluttering of robes in churches, nervous coughs in political boardrooms, and awkward silence in WhatsApp groups.

It happened to Paul you know. Yes, Paul the Apostle.

In what may be one of the most glorious insults ever recorded, Acts 24:5 tells us that when Paul was dragged in front of Governor Felix, the prosecuting lawyer Tertullus (a name that sounds suspiciously like a dinosaur or a toothpaste) opened his case with these words: “We have found this man to be a perfect pest!”

And mind you, this wasn’t a line hurled at him for double-parking his donkey.

It was because Paul, poor chap, wouldn’t stop speaking truth. He marched into synagogues, stepped into courtrooms, and strolled through markets—not to create a ruckus, but to speak about the ‘Way’, the good news, the radical idea that God loved all.

But the system didn’t like it. Truth, after all, doesn’t sit well with those invested in lies. So, Paul became a “pest”.

And here’s the twist, dear reader. That title? It was a gold medal, a badge of honour.

I’ve often wondered what would happen if we started handing out medals for being a pest in this way. You know—“The Order of the Most Honoured Irritant,” presented to the citizen who refuses to bribe the officer. Or the “Medal of Noble Nuisance” given to the employee who won’t fake sales numbers. Imagine a Republic Day parade filled with such pests.

Instead, we prefer to blend in. We nod in agreement to things we don’t believe in. We forward messages we don’t fact-check. We laugh nervously when jokes are made at someone else’s expense. And when a wrong is happening? We scroll past. Because we don’t want to be labelled.

Paul didn’t mind the label. In fact, I think he rather liked it.

So, here’s the question: Would you dare be called a pest for doing what Jesus would do? Would you be okay being the one who stands up when others sit quietly? Would you risk being the killjoy in a conversation soaked in gossip, or the rebel when corruption is being romanticized?

It’s uncomfortable. But comfort was never the point of faith.

Jesus was a carpenter who shook up temples. Paul was a tentmaker who rattled empires. And you? You might just be a teacher, a banker, a homemaker, or a chaiwallah with a conscience—but don’t underestimate what a little pestering in the name of truth can do.

So go ahead, be a pest. A perfect one, for God’s sake…!

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