In no particular order…
#1 “Don’t Judge” which comes from Matthew
7:1-2 which actually says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in
the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you
use, it will be measured to you.” The verse does not actually say that we are
not to judge others or make decisions about things or be discerning, but rather
we should be careful in our judgments of others because with the measure we use
it will be measured to us! We quote one part of the verse and leave out the
rest of Jesus’ thoughts. Most of the time we think “Don’t Judge” and it is a
blanket statement that we should love and be tolerant and accepting of all, but
that is not exactly what the verse says. The verse is often misused to shame
people into allowing others to live sinfully and to not say anything about it.
Be careful in how you judge… that is what Jesus says! We just misquote it.
#2 “God will never give you more than you can
bear” which comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 which actually says, “No temptation
has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he
will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,
he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Most of the
time we quote this verse and we say that the bad things in life will not be
above what we can bear. We say “God will not give you more than you can bear”
and leave out so much of the verse. The verse doesn’t say that and doesn’t even
come close. The context of the verse is temptation and that in all situations a
person will find a way out from under a temptation and God will provide a way
out. Temptation will not be more than you can bear. We just misuse it.
#3 “Money is the root of all evil” which
comes from 1 Timothy 6:10 which actually says, “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.” What we say about this verse is
incorrect. We omit words. Money is neither good nor evil, but it is what we do
with it that makes good or evil results. Money is certainly an issue in many
people’s lives. Even the other day on the radio station it mentioned money as a
prime reason for divorce. Money is needed for life, food, health, etc, but the
love of money is the downfall of many. Greed breeds more sin. We should master
our money not the other way around (see Dave Ramsey on that subject). We just
misquote and misuse this verse.
Are there other passages that you have heard
that are misused and misquoted? Thoughts?
What about God helps those that help themselves? Where did that come from?
ReplyDeleteThat phrase "God helps those that help themselves" is a phrase that is not a misused or misquoted Bible verse. In fact, it is a phrase that does not appear in the Bible nor is the idea even paraphrased. That phrase comes from Aesop's Fables in Ancient Greece and was also (I think) printed by Benjamin Franklin.
ReplyDeleteIf something like this phrase would ever be found in the Bible... the opposite would actually be found. God helps those who CANT help themselves. That is GRACE. That is MERCY. Our God is like that.
What about these two:
ReplyDelete1.) Cleanliness is next to Godliness
2.) Waste not, want not
Again, neither of these are from the Bible. Nothing in the Bible is even close to these. I think at least one of these phrases has its roots with Francis Bacon, but not the Bible. The Bible could have said "Clean your temple," but it doesn't. I am not sure the Bible even takes a look at waste (used 73x in the OT and NT) from the perspective of being wasteful. They just aren't in there!
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