Misinterpreting Text
Have you ever read a text message, email, or letter from someone that made you absolutely angry to read it? This happened to me recently, I received an email from someone and as I read their email I began to grow angry. I was angry that they couldn’t share with me in-person what they were so confident and callous to write in an email. It ruined my day.
Well, actually my day was already ruined. I hadn’t had much sleep the night before. I was dealing with some car issues. I was already in a bad mood and this email made it worse. I decided I needed to take a break and pray. I asked God for some calm and peace before I would respond to this email. I then re-read the email and what had upset me before I could not find. I realized in that moment that I had not only read the email out of context but also without a stable mindset. I was already upset and any sort of criticism or in this case just a suggestion upset me. The moment of prayer I took helped me to realize this. I am so glad I took that moment and never responded to the email in the way I first intended. I eventually saw the email in the context it was meant to be read and was even able to appreciate the suggestion.
It is so easy for us to misconstrue the meaning of a text. Mostly because we are not able to experience fully the tone and intention of the author. When you’re face to face with someone, you can read their body language and tone of voice and that can lend a whole different meaning to a sentence or comment vs. the stark black and white of emotionless text. Even messages with the best intentions can be misconstrued.
I believe the same thing is true of the Bible. We are separated by thousands of years and live in an entirely different world than the original authors yet we are supposed to interpret their intention. We can do our best to study the context of the stories, poems, songs, and letters that were written, but we will never be able to fully live into the experience of the original authors. So what do we do?
My suggestion is to come from a place of love! It works when I read a letter, email, or text message. So, why not try it with Scripture? When I read Scripture through the lens of love, I seek to understand God’s love for me, for the world, and how I am to reciprocate with God and share with the world. Reading through the lens of love helps me to remember God’s purpose for scripture according to the Apostle Paul (2 Timothy 3:14) that it was to “make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The lens of love reminds me that love is God’s intent.
Join us this Sunday for worship at 8:30 AM or 10:45 AM as we continue to learn how to read Scripture through the lens of compassion, love, and justice.
In God’s grip,
Pastor Chuck Church
