The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
February 25, 2007
Vol. 10 no. 08

Everything But...
           The Devil also quotes Scripture. That’s an old axiom, and when Jesus is being tempted by a Biblically literate devil in the wilderness, it’s easy to see the problem. Just reciting the words of the Bible doesn’t make them holy. It’s your attitude that can profane them.
           Words are meant to be holy, but most of the time our words are either profane or puny. We don’t say much worthwhile or we blurt out something that makes someone else worthless. Words are precious and should be used carefully as if they are priceless, and when you say a word in this spirit it’s almost holy.
           When the Bible is read in worship it is often referred to as the Word of God. That’s not as obvious as it seems. Many Christians claim that all words in the Old and New Testament are the inspired and inerrant (never wrong) words of God. All too often, that means that the words of Genesis and Luke are interpreted for the specific agenda of the preacher and church uttering them. Satan is doing precisely the same thing. No single word is holy without other words surrounding it giving it context and character and attitude. You always need other words, other attitudes, to give your words genuine meaning.
           In this way, the Holy Bible is initially a collection of words not really any different than words we read in a textbook or newspaper. But if we are receptive to the power of the Spirit of God to do something new to us, then when we read these ordinary words they become extra-ordinary words and have a knack of enabling us to see a new world. The words of the Bible become the Word of God when we are willing to listen for something we don’t already know.