Psalm 71:24
All day long I will announce your power to save. I will tell how you disgraced and disappointed those who wanted to hurt me.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Twisting words has become common practice in today’s politics… or maybe we are just more keenly aware of this because of social media and the Internet. At any rate, something of a sport has been made from taking a comment and repeating it out of context in order to make a particular point. One example I noticed in the last couple of days was a post circulating on Facebook that says people are complaining about a new gold-medal Olympian from the United States, because she gives the credit to God so often. The implication is that only one particular political party is complaining about her “Christian” behavior… and the “Christians” belong to the other party (not the party that is complaining)!
Another campaign-related post showed two people praying over a meal in a restaurant and implied that a particular candidate was going to preserve our “freedom to pray if we so choose.” Is anyone really thinking about this? We can pray anywhere, anytime! This caption did not say, “…freedom to pray in a public restaurant, out loud, with our heads bent over.” Do we really believe that God only hears the prayers that make a public scene?
We like to do this with scripture verses, too. We quote the Bible in a context that suits our needs at the present time and give little to no regard to what was really being said in a particular scripture passage. I have to believe that God is not amused when we use our Christian faith to twist and shape things to suit our needs. I do not mean to single out any one political party or person here. We are all guilty… and we need to stop!
It is time to recognize that our God is so powerful and all-encompassing that He really doesn’t need us putting words in His mouth… or operating as judge and jury on His behalf. He will handle these things perfectly. And our attempts to do this for God only serve to show us up for our lack of faith and confidence in His abilities to get the job done!
Think about it… do un-believers look at these comments and think, “That’s the kind of faith I want! There’s the God I want to serve – One who depends on His children to wield justice on His behalf!” Or do they want a God who says, “Come to me, and I will give you rest. I will show you the truth and how to operate in it… and I will handle anyone who tries to shame or disgrace you.”
I am reminded of the old hymn that says, “I know whom I have believed… and am persuaded that He is able …to keep that which I’ve committed… unto Him against that day.” I am persuaded that God is indeed able to use me when I humble myself to Him… to provide me with His truth to guide me… and to handle any who would dare to try and misconstrue or exploit my witness. And I trust Him to do exactly that. Do you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
“I Know Whom I Have Believed” – 1883 – Daniel W. Whittle ~ James McGranahan
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