There's a story that I heard a long time ago. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but it demonstrates the point that I want to make in today's blog. A man woke up on morning and wanted to see what God had in store for him to do that day. So he let his bible flop open in front of him and randomly pointed to a verse on the page. "Judas went out and hanged himself." Well, surely God doesn't want me to do that, so let's try it again, he thought. So he shut the bible, let it flop open again, and randomly pointed to another verse. "Go and do likewise." Hmm, he thought, that still doesn't sound right. Third time's the charm and all, so let's try it one more time. So he closed the bible, let it flop open, and randomly pointed to another verse. "What you are going to do, go and do quickly." And after that, I'm not really sure how the story ends.
One thing that I get frustrated with every once in a while is when people will just randomly quote a bible verse to me as though it proves the point they are making. Sure, there are times when that is appropriate, but the thing that always gets me is this. In order to do that, you basically rip a verse out of the entire context and story that gives it meaning, and then you cut it out and paste it onto something that you want in order to prove your point. While it sounds all good and holy, what that sounds like, at least to my ears, is a severe case of misquotation, one that can do a lot more harm than good.
I'll grant you that most people who do something like this really do try to make sure that the bible verse actually does fit with the point that they want to prove. Using a Psalm verse of praise when you are moved to praise God doesn't seem very out of place. In general, though, individual verses drawn from the bible, separated from their given context, have a danger in saying something that they weren't originally written to say.
The stories and saying in the bible are written down by humans, but are inspired by God's Spirit. That means that God says what He wants to through those stories and sayings. He says them in particular ways because that's the best way to know what He means. To cut one part out of God's story, and then paste it onto a point you want to make simply because it seems to say the same thing may seem to work, but it goes against the way that God's Word conveys meaning to us.
It's important to know the things that the bible says. It's even great to memorize bible verses, to have them handy in our minds. I just throw out the caution to make sure that you try to understand what God is saying through that verse in its context in the bible before you decide to paste it onto something simply because it seems to match what you are saying.
One thing that I get frustrated with every once in a while is when people will just randomly quote a bible verse to me as though it proves the point they are making. Sure, there are times when that is appropriate, but the thing that always gets me is this. In order to do that, you basically rip a verse out of the entire context and story that gives it meaning, and then you cut it out and paste it onto something that you want in order to prove your point. While it sounds all good and holy, what that sounds like, at least to my ears, is a severe case of misquotation, one that can do a lot more harm than good.
I'll grant you that most people who do something like this really do try to make sure that the bible verse actually does fit with the point that they want to prove. Using a Psalm verse of praise when you are moved to praise God doesn't seem very out of place. In general, though, individual verses drawn from the bible, separated from their given context, have a danger in saying something that they weren't originally written to say.
The stories and saying in the bible are written down by humans, but are inspired by God's Spirit. That means that God says what He wants to through those stories and sayings. He says them in particular ways because that's the best way to know what He means. To cut one part out of God's story, and then paste it onto a point you want to make simply because it seems to say the same thing may seem to work, but it goes against the way that God's Word conveys meaning to us.
It's important to know the things that the bible says. It's even great to memorize bible verses, to have them handy in our minds. I just throw out the caution to make sure that you try to understand what God is saying through that verse in its context in the bible before you decide to paste it onto something simply because it seems to match what you are saying.
No comments:
Post a Comment