Romans 16:17-18
One final word of counsel, friends.
Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching
that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a
wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ.
They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above
using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
- “The LORD helps those who help themselves.”
- “If you lie, you fry.” – Hezekiah 3:5
- “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”
- “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
- “God works in mysterious ways.”
- “Pride comes before the fall.”
- “To thine on self be true.”
Surely at least one of these “Bible quotes” has been uttered to you…except none of these are actually in the Bible!
There is no Book of Hezekiah…and these other phrases cannot be found in
this form anywhere in scripture. But people quote them often as if
they are the very words of God Almighty. And this is only the tip of
the iceberg.
As Paul points out to the Romans, people have been
taking bits and pieces of scripture and twisting them to meet a
particular agenda – for centuries! If you go back and take some of the
Old Testament books in part and parcel, you can make up all kinds of
crazy “Biblical” rules and standards. Leviticus 11:7-8 tells us not to
eat pigs…while Deuteronomy 14:8 says not to even touch a dead one! But you can eat locusts, crickets and grasshoppers! Sounds like the beginnings of a new diet craze to me!
I
don’t mean to be flippant, but this is just about how ridiculous it
gets sometimes. Someone will find a little snippet of scripture and use
it to start a whole “thing”…from discrimination against certain groups
of people or ideologies to a new fashion mandate or diet fad to the
latest method of child-rearing or corporate worship! And the scary
thing is that some of these “philosophies” have wormed their way into
our psyche and become “gospel!”
So what are we to do? First and
foremost, we are to make this as simple as we possibly can…Jesus loves
us…He died on the cross for our sins…He wants us to love Him – and to
love others as He taught us. Beyond this, we must dig deeply into God’s
word and consider it all…in total…not in bits and pieces. We must
understand that the laws and rituals of the Old Testament were all
changed when Jesus came to live among us. This is why we call it a “New
Life” in Christ!
We must appreciate the Old Testament as an
illustration of how we as a people have “been there, done that”…how
Jesus wiped away all of that insecurity and rigmarole and simplified our
faith. “In the same way I loved you, you love one another.” (John
13:34) Notice I did not say that He simplified our discipleship…but
unraveling the distortions and misinterpretations - and getting back to
the basics of God’s word - is a great first start. “Do your best to
win God’s approval as a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed and who
teaches only the true message.” (2 Timothy 2:15, CEV) This is pretty
well all we need to know…and do. God will handle the rest of the
details. Are you ready to let Him?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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
James 3:13-16
Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
On ABC’s The View, Barbara Walters said she wished children did not take Valentines to school on Valentine’s Day. Several of her co-workers gasped and questioned her about this remark. She explained that there always seemed to be a few children who brought Valentines for everyone and had a big fancy box to collect those which they received in return. However, not all children could afford to bring Valentines for others. And just as hurtful, some children were excluded from the exchange on purpose. Walters’ own daughter experienced this as a tall-for-her-age, gawky 6th grader who took a Valentine for every classmate… yet some deliberately did not reciprocate and made her feel inferior and ugly.
We start early building competitive spirit - and downright arrogance, prejudice, and meanness – into our children. By the time they are in upper elementary school, many have drawn a line in the sand between the “Haves” and the “Have-nots”… the “pretty” and the “ugly”… the popular and the unpopular people. Some spend lot of time and energy trying to be in the former camps, rather than the latter… and they will do almost anything to belong.
In my adult life, I have found it interesting to reconnect with some of the people who were so busy talking, boasting, twisting the truth, conniving and bullying others in order to appear wise, popular, or more important. Often, their lives turned out anything but well… filled with heartaches, missteps, and disappointments – if not utter failure. Some of those who lived in the shadows, quietly and humbly minding their own business, have gone on to accomplish great success… to become wise, well-respected, honorable and productive human beings who glorify God and bless others in their path.
Today, I challenge you to spend a few minutes thinking about your actions – and reactions – toward others. What image are you projecting? Are you boastful, judgmental, prejudiced, conniving? Do you take whatever steps are necessary to get ahead, make yourself look better, appear wise and affluent, and get what you want… at the expense of anything or anyone in your way? Has this become so much a part of your psyche that you don’t even realize you behave this way?
Ask God to show you where – and how – you need to become more humble. Call on Him to help you control your mouth… and your actions. It’s never too late to grow in wisdom… to more closely resemble the person God has called you to be. You may not be able to go back to 6th grade and give every classmate a Valentine, but you can start to be a nicer person in your present circle of friends and acquaintances. Are you building a reputation for wisdom? Will this be the Valentine’s Day you truly begin to operate in God’s love for you and those around you?
©2012 Debbie Robus
