Greetings!
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:25
If you’ve ever heard an unsavory
rumor
about yourself,
half-truth
, or maybe just a misunderstood
miscommunication
, you can probably sympathize with wanting people to not spread
gossip
. You would probably agree that if you didn't know the full story behind something, had questions or maybe just didn't hear about it straight from the source that it would be important to check your facts before sharing potential gossip. So important, that God even made one of the ten commandments about not giving
false testimony
against our neighbors.
Is it any different when people have
misconceptions
about the Bible or who God is, but don't stop to check the facts? Recently I've been diving into finding the truth, if any, behind common Christian sayings such as
"all sins are equal," "God won't give you more than you can handle,"
or
"God helps those who help themselves."
Many of us have heard these phrases and take them at face value, believing them to be true; but when we stop to take them apart and derive their Biblical founding, it can turn out to be not what God actually said or relatively meant at all. While we generally say these things with the best intentions, it's important to share God's
truth
and not simply what we've heard- since it can very easily give the wrong impression. The popularity of these statements remind us just how important it is to think before we speak.
It is not enough to only believe the parts of the Bible that we want to believe, or only uphold those laws that are most convenient for our life choices; that would be more worshiping ourselves than the God who created us. It is important to reference the Bible in all things to know that you are doing God's will and that your beliefs are
true
to what God actually said and meant. Because, we know that the truth is important; both to us, and the God who created us all.
