The Word of God is alive and active, and it is powerful in bringing the truth of God's salvation in Christ to all men. Although the Word of God is holy and true, there are some wrong attitudes that can cause one to use it wrongly, live a mediocre and unfruitful life, or even turn away from God.
I've seen certain attitudes that have hindered some people from reaching their full potential in God. I can attest that they indeed hinder Christians from living the life that God wants them to live: a holy, humble life marked by continued growth in Christ-likeness and godliness.
Here are some wrong attitudes that we should avoid when we handle the Word of God.
1. Interpreting the Word of God Using Our Own Imagination
While it's good to exercise our creative minds, using it to interpret the Word of God might cause us to miss out what it really says.
The Word of God can explain itself without the need for human interpretation. That's how self-sufficient it is. The best thing to do is to search the Scriptures for explanations to itself. For example, if we read the prophecies concerning Jesus in the Old Testament without knowing who He is according to the gospels, we might miss it.
This was the problem that people during Jesus' time had: they misinterpreted the Messiah because of their own ideas, and not checking the whole of Scripture (at least the OT in their time) about what He will do. We should avoid fitting the Word in our mind-boxes.
2. Getting a 'Rhema' Word and Staying Stuck in It Without Any Progress
Have you ever read the Bible and then it seemed that a certain passage or verse jumped out of the pages to speak a personal message that impacted you in some way, either to convict you of sin, remind you of God's promises and plans, or give you an instruction? That's called a rhema word.
The word rhema means "an utterance" in Greek, and usually rhema words speak a timely message to a Christian. The problem is that when some Christians receive one, they get stuck in it for a long time, and lose the desire to progress.
When we receive a rhema from the Word of God, the best thing to do is take it to heart, apply it in our lives, and desire for more of God. Because our God continually does new things, a rhema should never stop us from seeking God with each day that passes by.
3. Not Taking Its Commands and Admonitions as It Is
Another wrong attitude that I have noticed is the tendency to interpret what God meant to be simply obeyed. It goes something like this: "Is there any other 'deep' meaning to Exodus 20:17 which says 'You must not covet ... anything else that belongs to your neighbour'?"
When the Scripture gives instructions to obey, we should not interpret (for example, we should not desire to murder because God commands to avoid it in Exodus 20:13).
When Scripture gives us things to pray about and seek God for ("let him who has ears to hear" verses, for example), we must simply pray and seek God.
In Conclusion
Friends, let's check ourselves if we have these wrong attitudes. Let's have the right attitudes of seeking God like what the Berean Christians had in Acts 17:11.
There are other wrong attitudes in handling the Word of God. I hope to share them in future articles.
