Context

7-12-2010
Context

We tend to draw a conclusion about things, people, events, experiences, and etcetera without truly understanding the entire situation or event. It might be something as silly as “so and so said this about you.” Later you find out they weren’t even talking about you, but instead they were quoting something from a movie. I love to use the following example: If I told you I would give you a million dollars if you jumped out of an airplane without a parachute, would you do it? I would assume most of you would quickly say no! Now, what if I told you the airplane was on the ground? This is a perfect example of drawing a conclusion without getting all of the information. If you knew the airplane was on the ground, of course you would jump out of the plane.

In addition to jumping to conclusions, we often misunderstand people. I know I’ve been guilty of drawing a conclusion about someone without truly getting to know them. In fact, a friend of mine asked me about one of my friends today. He said, “He seems so cold and standoffish.” The truth is he does come across that way until you get to know him. Once you get to know him, he is the exact opposite. I like to think of him as a big teddy bear. Again, this is an example of a common mistake we make.

As it relates to the Bible, it too can be taken out of context, thus misunderstood. Yesterday we spoke about the importance of understanding the Bible, so to add to that, it’s important to understand the context of the verse you are reading within the Bible. Understanding who is speaking, and who the speaker is speaking to, does make a difference. You will find people incorrectly using versus out of the Bible because they don’t understand the context of those versus. When you are seeking answers out of the Bible, you shouldn’t simply open the Bible and read a verse. Dig a little deeper to unlock the actual meaning of the verse and watch how more impactful the Bible is. For those of you reading the Bible on a daily basis, GREAT JOB! It can be very difficult to stay focused and have the discipline to feed your mind the spiritual food it needs, yet this is the most important type of non-materialistic need we have. When we are growing spiritually, the joy of the Lord rules your life, and you will see the world in the proper context!

Application:
1.Read Matthew 4: 1-11
2.Focus on getting as much information as possible before jumping to conclusions, and allow God to be a part of the decision making process.