I’ve often talked about context here, particularly in historical scenarios. When faced with something about the past that you don’t understand, it helps to think through what may have been going on at that time both in light of the events and philosophies of the wider world and in the minds of those who were there.
This applies too to what we read in the Bible. To take a favorite example, we often hear people quote the famous Old Testament passage, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” A wonderful sentiment for sure, but does it apply to us today? Not really. This verse was meant for the nation of Israel at that time. God has never called a nation “my people” since – including (and most definitely so) the United States.
Or another favorite: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Absolutely – when you understand that Paul is talking about perseverance and contentment in suffering for Christ. We know this from what he wrote just before those words: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
I have many favorite verses that can easily be used for encouragement in living a peaceful and fulfilling life. Among them are two written by Paul — first, in his letter to the Galatian church, he says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” And again to the Philippians, he writes “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
These are incredible words, but they demand context too. Anyone can go out and “do” these things using today’s understanding of the words and feel wonderful about themselves. The flower children of the 60’s probably had a lot of this stuff nailed down. They spoke a lot about love and peace and justice, and a few of them even lived their lives like it was true. The same can go for many of today’s fighters for whatever justices they perceive need battle.
But look again. Of course love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are excellent qualities in a person. We should all want this out of ourselves and others. But understanding the context of the passage (and this one is easy because Paul tells us outright they come from the Spirit), we see these qualities as being a result of God’s work on us and not our own preferences as to their meaning. In reality, the root of these qualities in the person without God tends more toward self. In some ways, quite subtle, in others, surprisingly brazen.
And of course the world can’t see it God’s way. When I worked in Texas for a few years during the mid-naughts, I sat directly across the desk from a hard-charging civilian. I could tell she didn’t care much for me – probably because I lacked the intensity she demanded of her coworkers, and when I talked to her one day about what Paul wrote (probably in a conversation about why I was so easy-going), she looked at me like I was some kind of alien.
The second passage is also an excellent pattern for living – who can argue with truth and honor and justice and purity and loveliness? Who can say anything against that which is commendable, excellent, or worthy of praise? We should certainly think of these things (I assure you, it’s an excellent meditation when you’re feeling a bit stressed). But why? To the one who doesn’t believe in God, none of these things has any root. Truth is what you make of it (as are honor, justice, purity, and loveliness). Where you land on any of these things depends to a great extent on who you are…and so when the person you are is a bit cranky, you end up with these things meaning something significantly different than the definition given by the next person…or even yourself from the day before.
But in the context of where you get these words, it’s different. “Justice” is God’s justice. “Loveliness” is God’s loveliness. Those things which are excellent and commendable and worthy of praise are gauged so against God’s definition of those words. You can get by in a life that excludes God and you can hold to all of these things to the best of your abilities, but honestly, without the objective truth of God to define them, you may as well live at the whims of the seas on which you drift. Life at its base is meaningless if one does not have an anchor to which to tether.