How often do you see Christians and non-Christians referencing the Bible to underscore conclusions not supported by scripture or that are not relevant to the subject? Recently, a Christian organization that focuses on American history shared a graphic detailing the number of allied soldiers, ships, landing crafts, vehicles, and planes that were used during the D-Day invasion of World War 2. The graphic also listed the estimated casualties suffered by both the allied and axis troops. Turned off by the inclusion of the number of casualties suffered by the axis troops, I commented, "Could care less about what Germany lost." Another individual replied to me by saying:
"We are all God's creation. We fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and demons. Hate not your fellow man, but hate sin. Aside from that (which is enough), many German soldiers did not want to fight but were forced to."
Perhaps, I shouldn't have made the comment or said "Nazis" instead of "Germans." But, I don't see what this comment and the scripture references have to do with my opinion. The graphic and my comment had nothing to do with anything spiritual or biblical. But, what I said made me a candidate for being judged. I probably should have "turned the other cheek" and let it go. But, I did respond. Here is what I said:
"But, we are not all God's children. The Nazi regime was evil. The motive of individual soldiers is irrelevant to the totality of what they did as a whole."
This is where it ended. Again, I probably would have been better served not to comment initially, much less sparred with a total stranger. However, the references to the Bible appear to be judgmental of me and taken out of context. I don't see where the reference to Ephesians 6:12 has anything to do with my comment. I never said anything about hating Germans either. All I did was confess my disinterest in the losses suffered by Nazi Germany because without their actions there never would have been the necessity for a D-Day or the loss of life and property.
Then there is the problem that arises when scriptures are posted in isolation. It becomes easy to rely on our understanding and draw the wrong conclusion. Ephesians 4:25-32 says:
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
On its social media page, a Bible app wrote, "Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry." Then they posted Ephesians 4:26 underneath. And that is it. There was no explanation or anything. One could argue that the verse is self-explanatory. However, how does one avoid letting the sun go down on their anger? If you get angry after dark, then what do you do? I am being silly, but you get my point. People are left to assume it is up to them to figure out how to avoid being angry before sunset. It leads to people giving advice like, "Be angry. Experience the emotion. But don't let it take over and spill into your life." This will lead to a person looking for techniques and procedures to implement in their life when they get angry. While that can be useful is there something more? The same social media page also wrote, "Be kind to one another." This is in reference to Ephesians 4:32. Again, like with verse 26, how do we show kindness to one another? Why should we be kind? A piece of Christian advice that came from this was "Be the reason someone smiles today." Great, there is nothing wrong with making someone smile. But, is this what this verse is conveying to us? This is what happens when we look at scripture as instructions for Christian living. We look for a command, filter it by relying on our understanding, and then we look for opportunities in life to live it out. It is living life from the outside in rather than from the inside out. So, what do we do to avoid this happening?
The key to this entire passage in Ephesians is to read verse 32 in its entirety. "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave us." Not letting the sun go down on our anger and being kind to one another are fruits of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God produces the fruit that we bear to each other and the world. But, the Holy Spirit does not and cannot indwell us apart from God forgiving all of our sins. As born-again Christians, God is no longer angry with us, in that we are not His enemies and our sins no longer separate us from Him. This allows us to receive His love. In receiving His love we can then be kind to one another because He is kind to us. When someone sins against us, our inability to be forgiving is why the sun goes down on our anger. God doing a work in our hearts is what leads to us being able to forgive and quenches our anger. This is how experiencing Ephesians 4:25-32 becomes a reality in our lives. It is not an act of our will where we develop ways to get over being angry and to try and be kind to people. It is an act of God's will as we submit to Him as He changes our hearts.
Whether it is me triggering someone because of an idle comment or well-meaning Christian ministries posting scriptures in isolation, it can teach us all about reliance on Jesus Christ. Thankfully, God can use all of it apart from any of us having a full understanding of Him, His Word, or when and where to apply it. However, this does not mean we should not test the spirits to see if they are from God, be like Bereans and see if what is being said is true, or learning how to rightly divide scripture. It does mean that God should always be the one we turn to in these circumstances. There is a difference between what scripture means to us and what scripture means. The next time you encounter someone offering up Bible verses to support the claims they are making or just to offer up as encouragement, do not be afraid to ask them "What do you mean by that?' God has an opinion about what He has written. It is our responsibility to seek what that opinion is on every verse of scripture.
