I don't like to think of myself as a judgmental kind of person. But recently I have been convicted of the fact that I am very judgmental. Although God is doing His new reality series "Warren's Extreme Makeover" and changing me from the inside out, I still have these very judgmental thoughts. Not in the way you might think though.
I used to look at people who lived in mobile homes or similar dwellings as trashy people. Usually they had garbage strewn all over their property and their homes looked like they would collapse at any minute. I would think, "Why do people live like that? Why don't they take care of what they own even if it is a piece of junk?" Lately, as God has done His handiwork, my feelings have changed and I thought that I had left these kind of judgments behind me. I realize now that God doesn't look at the house or car we own, He doesn't look at how well we keep our yard, or how clean our lives are. He only cares about the condition of our heart.
This thought dawned on me one day, "What if the person living in that trailer has devoted everything they are and everything they have to serving God's purpose. So much so that they have nothing left over for themselves." Likely? Perhaps not but who am I to make that judgment just from seeing the exterior of how they live. I was looking through a human perspective and not God's perspective.
Jesus turned and said to Peter(Warren), "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Matt 16:23 NIV.
So what did I do? I went to the other end of the spectrum. I started to see the wealthy people around me as the ones who were really lost. And the Bible seemed to back this idea up when I read things like Mark 10:25 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Or Proverbs 28:6 "Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse."
We live in a affluent area where people I know at church are very wealthy. They have big houses, fancy cars, and expensive clothes. I started to think, "These people are wasting God's blessings on themselves. Do you really need a Porsche Cayenne to carry the kids!" I also pondered the question, "When God gives a man great wealth is it a blessing or a curse?"
Well, as usually happens God's been trying to teach me this lesson for a while but it took until now to fully understand it. In discussions with my neighbor and my mom, both said pretty much the same thing. My neighbor stated that he didn't know why so many people hated rich folks. "They're some of the most generous people we know!" he exclaimed at one point. All I was thinking was that, "Yes, they give...out of their excess. They have so much money that they lack for nothing even after they give to charities."
Then I read Deut. 30:1-10. Especially verse 9 that says God will prosper you. And I finally came to conclusion that I had been driving at for a while. Being rich is not a sin, but the love of money is. 1 Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." God doesn't intend for His blessings to increase our burden, but it can if we let it.
Again, it goes back to where our hearts are at. If we love money more than God it's a sin and we will "pierced with many griefs", but God may bless us with wealth if he knows we can be trusted. Don't think that I'm preaching the Prosperity Gospel which uses the Bible to convince people they're all supposed to be rich. I'm not saying that at all. I am saying that when we look at rich people we can't see where their heart is at. Many of the very rich are great philanthropists and as long as they are placing God and His will for their money first, then they have every right to enjoy what's left over as a blessing from God.
The Bible is full of verses that vilify the rich. But they are speaking about those who have, in their hearts, placed their wealth above God. So now when I see the rich and the poor I try only to see their hearts for God and not what they wear or drive. Because "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matt 6:21. My treasure is in my heart where the Spirit of God resides, where is yours?
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Lost in Translation
One of the things I hear a lot and even believed at one time is, "The Bible is written by men and is therefore flawed." There are even "Christian" religions who state that the Bible has not been accurately translated and is erroneous. The latest I have encountered was the idea that Satan is corrupting the scriptures by influencing the translators into blatant mis-translation. Let me take on each of these challenges directly.
First, the idea that the Bible, being written by a flawed human hand, is flawed as well. This would be true if men were writing the Bible of their own intelligence and understanding. But God works through men, perfecting what is flawed so that His glory is fully shown and not attributed to anything else (2 Cor. 12:9). The evidence that this is so is in the fact that over 2000 years later the Bible is still as relevant today as it was when it was written. Think about that. Even the founding fathers of the U.S. had their "perfect" government significantly altered and it's only been a little over 200 years!
When someone says to me that the Bible has been mistranslated or corrupted I like to say, "Show me where." They have to have read the Bible including the original Greek and Aramaic texts to prove their point. Not many people have done that, and those that have are dedicating their life to the translation of the Bible. I would say they have a lot more vested interest in accuracy for their own's sake. Besides, to say that the Bible has been corrupted is to deny the power of God. Let me draw you a simple picture.
God created everything that we see and know. The universe, the planets and stars, the earth and everything in it. He did it with mathematical precision that we are only beginning to unlock. Yet he lacks the power to keep His one book completely accurate? The only (if you're a true Christian) book that tells us who God is, what He wants and values, and what gives our lives meaning? What kind of God gives us a book that He can't keep accurate and then sends us to hell because we didn't do what we're supposed to? Does that sound like justice to you? If the Bible is not true then we're just as lost and confused as the rest of the world.
As far as the Bible being accurately translated, Bible scholars have identified 3,157 texts that include all or part of the New Testament, some dating back to the second century. Out of this abundance of documentation 95% of all errors in translation have been misspellings or mis-punctuations or the like. What of the other 5%? Let me just say that no one Bible verse invalidates the entire Bible if it should happen to be mistranslated. There are many verses in the Bible that taken out of context can be used to support any course of action or inaction. The Bible is meant to be used as a whole. Only after studying the Bible as a whole does one come to a complete understanding of it. Seemingly contradictory statements are throughout the Bible but after studying the Bible as a whole, only then is the truth revealed and those statements are shown to be in harmony. We love to quote people, movies, books, etc. but only those who have read, watched, or listened to them understand what they truly stood for. Which brings me to my last point.
As I studied the debate over which Bible version is the most accurate, I ran across an argument that Satan is perverting the Bible in order to keep man separated from God. Other than defenses previously discussed I offer Mark 3: 25-26. When the Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan, Jesus replies, "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided he cannot stand; his end has come." The Bible is the word and truth of God. Satan cannot and will not promote the reading of the Bible. In order to know and prove that the Bible has been corrupted you must have read it. Satan will, however, use the argument that the Bible has been corrupted to keep people from reading it. The more we as Christians argue about which version of the Bible is the most accurate the more damage we do. Those outside of the faith see our infighting and say, "See! Even they can't agree on which Bible is true!" God will keep the meaning of His scriptures intact, but it's us that Satan is using to keep people from the Bible.
Let me be clear. Whatever leads people to God is a good thing! Whether or not you think it's the truth, if it points people to God, then it's a good thing! Deut. 4:29 assures us that when we seek God with all our heart we will find Him no matter what has prompted us to seek. Satan will not prompt us to seek God, he will attempt to keep us in the dark and separated.
Whatever version of the Bible you prefer, be it King James or other, the message is the same. There is a God. He loves you so much He sent His son as an atoning sacrifice so that we would be free from sin and death. He showed us who He is and what He values through His son Jesus Christ. Christ rose from the dead and remains risen so that we may have confidence that we also have life through Christ Jesus. "...and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it." Amen.
First, the idea that the Bible, being written by a flawed human hand, is flawed as well. This would be true if men were writing the Bible of their own intelligence and understanding. But God works through men, perfecting what is flawed so that His glory is fully shown and not attributed to anything else (2 Cor. 12:9). The evidence that this is so is in the fact that over 2000 years later the Bible is still as relevant today as it was when it was written. Think about that. Even the founding fathers of the U.S. had their "perfect" government significantly altered and it's only been a little over 200 years!
When someone says to me that the Bible has been mistranslated or corrupted I like to say, "Show me where." They have to have read the Bible including the original Greek and Aramaic texts to prove their point. Not many people have done that, and those that have are dedicating their life to the translation of the Bible. I would say they have a lot more vested interest in accuracy for their own's sake. Besides, to say that the Bible has been corrupted is to deny the power of God. Let me draw you a simple picture.
God created everything that we see and know. The universe, the planets and stars, the earth and everything in it. He did it with mathematical precision that we are only beginning to unlock. Yet he lacks the power to keep His one book completely accurate? The only (if you're a true Christian) book that tells us who God is, what He wants and values, and what gives our lives meaning? What kind of God gives us a book that He can't keep accurate and then sends us to hell because we didn't do what we're supposed to? Does that sound like justice to you? If the Bible is not true then we're just as lost and confused as the rest of the world.
As far as the Bible being accurately translated, Bible scholars have identified 3,157 texts that include all or part of the New Testament, some dating back to the second century. Out of this abundance of documentation 95% of all errors in translation have been misspellings or mis-punctuations or the like. What of the other 5%? Let me just say that no one Bible verse invalidates the entire Bible if it should happen to be mistranslated. There are many verses in the Bible that taken out of context can be used to support any course of action or inaction. The Bible is meant to be used as a whole. Only after studying the Bible as a whole does one come to a complete understanding of it. Seemingly contradictory statements are throughout the Bible but after studying the Bible as a whole, only then is the truth revealed and those statements are shown to be in harmony. We love to quote people, movies, books, etc. but only those who have read, watched, or listened to them understand what they truly stood for. Which brings me to my last point.
As I studied the debate over which Bible version is the most accurate, I ran across an argument that Satan is perverting the Bible in order to keep man separated from God. Other than defenses previously discussed I offer Mark 3: 25-26. When the Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan, Jesus replies, "If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided he cannot stand; his end has come." The Bible is the word and truth of God. Satan cannot and will not promote the reading of the Bible. In order to know and prove that the Bible has been corrupted you must have read it. Satan will, however, use the argument that the Bible has been corrupted to keep people from reading it. The more we as Christians argue about which version of the Bible is the most accurate the more damage we do. Those outside of the faith see our infighting and say, "See! Even they can't agree on which Bible is true!" God will keep the meaning of His scriptures intact, but it's us that Satan is using to keep people from the Bible.
Let me be clear. Whatever leads people to God is a good thing! Whether or not you think it's the truth, if it points people to God, then it's a good thing! Deut. 4:29 assures us that when we seek God with all our heart we will find Him no matter what has prompted us to seek. Satan will not prompt us to seek God, he will attempt to keep us in the dark and separated.
Whatever version of the Bible you prefer, be it King James or other, the message is the same. There is a God. He loves you so much He sent His son as an atoning sacrifice so that we would be free from sin and death. He showed us who He is and what He values through His son Jesus Christ. Christ rose from the dead and remains risen so that we may have confidence that we also have life through Christ Jesus. "...and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it." Amen.
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