BLING BLING

We all quote scriptures all the time. Someone says something, some synapses link up and out pops a scripture, or part of one... sort-of, regurgitated in our recollected form. The problem is we haven’t always made sure we understand the truth contained in our quote, truth embedded in the context of the parent passage. When we take a Biblical text out of its context we produce pretext, what Webster calls ostensible reason, something that is put forth concealing truth. Now there are those who pretext as a lifestyle –we’ve all heard them – using pretext as proof text to “prove” some scriptural hobby-horse, some belief they want everyone to ride with them. Beware of beliefs packaged in “too good to be true” self indulgent blessings that stoke the fire of “other love”, love directed anywhere other than God and His Kingdom... especially if money changes hands. Sometimes we simply need to turn the TV off and trust our Daddy. 

Rappers created a word – it’s apparently easier to learn language if you make your own up – the word “Bling”, to describe their flashy oversized fake jewelry: If it is gaudy, glitters and looks valuable it is Bling. Some people in the body of Christ spew Spiritual Bling espousing half-truths, contextual misfits, which stroke our fleshly desires like a good massage. Remember: God hides His truth in plain sight – in the context. The Apostle Paul commended the Bereans for searching the scriptures daily to see if he was telling them the truth (Acts 17:11). Now if fact checking the Apostle Paul was a good thing, maybe we should be a wee bit more careful before we accept something as truth – after all it is our own salvation we are cautiously working out with reverence and awe (Phil. 2:12, Amp.). So when our best friend... or our neighbor... or our pastor... or that guy on TV with the big hair and the perpetual smile, throws out a truth-ball, don’t get Blinged! Dust off that old book on the corner shelf, carefully turn those brittle pages and search the scriptures for yourself, paying close attention to the context while considering all related passages. Prayerfully let the Holy Spirit teach and confirm God’s truth... as the Bible interprets itself. Oh, and lets guard our own mouth too... don’t be a Blinger!