Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Yellow Dress/White Truck Principle

I've been told that my blog posts are too long, and I need to start making them shorter so people have time to actually read them.  So in keeping with that charge, this will be shorter than my usual essays that I put out.  And I suppose it makes sense to post in smaller chunks, because I don't have time to write super long didactic messages, and you don't have time to read them.
I thought I would share with you a concept my sister so beautifully illustrated after a recent Bible study.  It's a very useful tool, and something to keep in mind.
A lot of times people see what they want to see in the Bible, and they keep seeing things that relate to whatever it is that they are thinking of.  My sister noticed this when every example she was giving in the Bible study had to do with the National Bible Quizzing Tournament, because that is what she was thinking about.  And she related it to something that had happened at a conference she had recently attended...
A friend of hers was wearing a bright yellow dress, and noticed somebody else wearing the same color.  Then she said, "Hey, a lot of people are wearing yellow today!" and began counting all the people wearing yellow.  But, as my sister so aptly pointed out, she honestly probably could have done the same with any color.  It's just that yellow stood out to her because that's what she was wearing.  But if she had been wearing green, she might have noticed all the people wearing green, and so on, and so forth.
The same concept applies when you buy a new car.  You may think you are getting a unique white truck, which is one of the newest models, and you can't remember ever seeing a white truck like yours before.  But as soon as you get on the road, you begin noticing how many white trucks there are out there exactly like yours.  You didn't notice before, because you weren't watching for it, but once you got a white truck, they began standing out to you.
People do the same thing when reading the Bible.  The thing that they're focusing on or dealing with in their life is what sticks out to them in Bible study.  A friend of mine had to teach a Bible study on Proverbs 7, and thereafter, for the next several Bible studies, it seemed like everything that was said reminded him in some way of what he had learned by studying then teaching Proverbs 7.
But it's also something to watch out for.  We can often see ONLY what we want to in the Bible, without letting it speak for itself, like it should.  I find this to be true, especially if I'm debating a topic with someone.  If I've been talking with someone about predestination or baptism or God being one, or whichever topic I'm currently debating, EVERYTHING I read in the Bible seems to relate to that issue somehow.  I'm constantly looking for verses I can use against the other person in that subject.  The trouble is that means I have the capacity to pull verses out of context.  You'll see others do the same thing, particularly in group Bible studies.  If they have a point they want to prove, even if the verse isn't even talking about that subject at all, they'll find a way to relate the verse to that subject.
The trouble when we approach the Bible that way, we may miss what God wants to teach us.  I recently saw an example of this in a book I'm reading called "The Spanish Brothers".  It's set during the Spanish Inquisition, and is, of course, about two Spanish brothers who are reading the New Testament in their own language on their own, even though the Church strictly forbids that, and calls this new movement of Christians heretics.  One brother is captured, the one who is more solid in his faith, and inadvertently leaves his Spanish New Testament with his brother who is out of town at the time of his arrest.  The brother gets back and tries everything he can to set his brother at liberty but to no avail.  Understandably, a bitterness and anger towards the inquisitors and priests and government officials who have captured his brother begins to well in his heart.  But listen to this paragraph about what happens as he reads the Word of God, as a result:
"Gradually a strange alteration appeared to come over the little book he constantly studied--his brother's Spanish Testament.  The words of promise, and hope, and comfort, in which he used to delight, seemed to be blotted from its pages; while ever more and more those pages were filled with fearful threatenings and denunciations of doom--against hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, false teachers and wicked high priests--against great Babylon, the mother of abominations.  The peace-breathing, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," grew fainter and more faint, until at last it faded completely from his memory; while there stood out before him night and day, in characters of fire, "Serpents, generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"
We need to be careful to let God teach us His heart and what He wants us to see through His Word, rather than reading into it what we want to see.  There's nothing wrong with verses standing out to us that apply to things in our lives that we're going through at the time...in fact, that's the way that God intended for it to happen!  The problem is when we use the Bible as a means to further our own agenda or justify our lifestyle.  Let God show us what He wants us to see in His heart and ours, and we will be blessed as we study His Word!  Hope this little study tip helps you in some way!  (This one's for free.)   As a final note, remember these words of James:
James 1:21-25Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. (22) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (23) For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: (24) For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. (25) But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
(Psst!  Hey, how was that for shorter?  A little better, huh?  Oh well...I'm working on it.)

5 comments:

  1. Hey, Michael- I was seriously just teasing you about the length of your posts! Maybe I should stop teasing you :-)

    I love the concept that you are talking about here- it's so true... I notice that it IS hard for me sometimes to look at the whole context of the verse because I want so badly for it to mean what I want it to mean- to apply to me the way that I first interpret it... thanks for the encouragement and reminder to look for GOD'S intentions instead of support for our own agendas ;-)

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  2. Haha, no believe me--you weren't the only one! Several of my friends have mentioned how long my posts are! Anthony quoted off a statistic about how no blog post should exceed 300 words or something lol.

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    1. I remember that- I think he was referring to the Guild blog though- you're the boss on this blog- you can make the posts as long or as short as you want ;-) Um yeah, but if he WAS referring to all blog posts, I'm in serious trouble! ;-)

      No, seriously, I felt AWFUL!! I'm sorry :-)

      This post was great though, I must say again- totally awesome!

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  3. Hey! Don't worry about how long your posts are! It is not about how long (or short) they are, but about the words you write. No it's not a quote I heard somewhere, those are my words. :) Keep up the good work!

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    1. Aw thanks! Haha. I will show this to all my friends who dare complain about it again! (Absolutely beautiful quote...I may steal that.)

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