"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" - Psalm 119:105
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." - 2 Timothy 2:15
Been a while since I’ve “blogged” (though honestly I’m more teacher than blogger and thus I just haven’t made the time to once again seek to teach) though a few thoughts have been rattling around in my mind that it’s about time I put proverbial pen to paper and write.
One of the dangers with clichés and catch phrases is that they can too often be mistaken for truth because they sound so good although Scripture would argue against it.
For example:
“Cleanliness is next to godliness” – sure having a clean house can be a great thing (and if you are a parent with kids, more props to you), but it doesn’t make you a better Christian. In fact, it doesn’t even make you “godlier”. It’s not Scripture but many believe it is in Proverbs. Sorry, just a nice catch phrase that spread.
“God helps those who help themselves“ – another “Bible verse” people tend to tell others who are looking for God to answer their prayers. Problem is, not only is it not found in the Bible (in reality, it originated from Algernon Sydney in 1698 in an article titled Discourses Concerning Government) it isn’t even congruent with Biblical teaching as God helps those who can’t help themselves (see verses such as Isaiah 25:4, Romans 5:6). Now we shouldn’t sit on our behinds and not do anything, but there is patience to be had in waiting for God to work. If you need a job, pray but also go put in applications, but that doesn’t prove that God helps those who help themselves.
The latest one that I’ve heard that has bugged me (perhaps being too cynical) is “plan like it depends on you; pray like it depends on God.”
Sounds good, but if you’re planning like it depends on you, how are you really praying like it depends on God? And if plans work out according to your plans, who gets the glory?
Let me note that I am not saying you shouldn’t plan or that planning is somehow wrong. In fact, a person should plan. However, before one plans, one needs to pray and seek God’s plan then go the direction one feels they are being led by Him, not by their own ingenuity. Abraham planned like it depended on him and that led to the birth of Ismael and a history of wars between Israel and Ismael’s seed (many Arab nations today spring from). In fact, Abraham probably received Hagar as a maid servant for Sarah because he planned himself how to save his life by lying in regard to Sarah as his sister (see Genesis chapters 12, 16, & 21). Had Joshua planned as if it depended on him, he never would have thought about marching around the walls of Jericho until God brought them down. And there are countless other examples from Scripture that would be against planning like it depended on us.
What is the danger to all this?
In a society that has become social media driven, we are quick to jump on 140 character or less phrases as a way to live our lives, rather than seeking what Scripture has to say. We can develop theology and worldviews based on nice catch phrases or clichés rather than the Word of God. Just because a great leader states something on Twitter or Facebook, doesn’t necessarily mean it is right. Paul the apostle taught the Bereans but they went back to make sure everything he said was right (Acts 17:10-11). The point in writing this isn't to attack anyone or make you feel bad if you retweeted something or liked the saying. The point is rather being careful with what we accept without checking its accuracy.
Know the Word and its principles. Pray for the Lord to come through in your situations and wisdom for what your role should be. Double check those things you hear against the Scriptures (in fact, after reading this post, check to be sure things are so – if you feel they aren’t, feel free to comment).
