Thoughts on Perspective

I recently heard someone say, “It’s like the Bible; you can interpret it any way you want.”

This wasn’t the first time I’d heard that, but it got me thinking… I don’t know that interpret is the right word; perspective is more fitting.

Watching Steel Magnolias as a 13-year-old was wildly different from watching it as a 40-year-old. Does that mean the movie changed? Did the intention of the scriptwriters change? Did they add new lines?

No. What changed was me.

Experiences, people, relationships, joys and sorrows - we all build perspectives around what we’ve been through.

I think the same thing happens when we read Scripture. Take Paul’s letters, for example. The meaning and purpose behind what he wrote for the people he wrote to is concrete. Taking a verse or passage and applying it to a situation you’re currently facing isn’t necessarily wrong, but we have to be careful not to claim that this is what the writer meant.

2 Timothy 2:15 says to “be diligent … rightly dividing the word of truth.” (NKJV) Another translation says, “correctly handling the word of truth.”
Later, 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”.

It is important not to confuse application with interpretation. Be diligent to understand the meaning and context.

Stay knee-deep in what matters,

Jen