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Know Your Foundation - April 07, 2007
Easter is a time for Christians to come face to face with their faith. Our foundation, which rests in Christ Jesus, is presented through the son of God's death and resurrection. For this reason, Easter is not just a holiday, but more importantly, a holy day.
Just as we may become so caught up in the festivities of dying eggs, Easter egg hunts, purchasing chocolates for baskets, and planning the traditional ham dinner, that we may miss or not give this holy day its just benevolence, it is equally common for Christians to miss some of the messages taught within its own cherished Scriptures.
The most misquoted Bible verse is, "Money is the root of all evil."
Money is evil, you say? How can that be when money can buy food to feed the hungry, pay for the medical care of the sick and dying, and when donated to noble arenas can help fund necessary scientific research for the betterment of mankind?
If this makes no sense to you, it is because what the Bible really says is, "For the love of money is the root of all evil." (Timothy, 6:10)
Now that makes sense! After all, think about why most crimes are committed. Someone is trying to beat the system for the sake of personal gain. The robber, mugger, and wife who is hiring the hit man to knock off her husband who has a large insurance policy, all are willing to do the unthinkable so that they may somehow easily cash in. Morality and common decency is set to the wayside, and it is their love of money that allows the almighty dollar to become their god. This is the evil, not money, per say..
Scriptural misquotes can even be used to support racism, making it appear the Bible supports not mixing the races. The argument goes something like this, "Even God says we should not be unequally yoked!" Sorry to disappoint any KKK supporters out there who use this distortion to condone their own hatred and ignorance, but this particular verse in 2 Corinthians 6:14 refers to believers marrying unbelievers. Such a hook-up is regarded as being "unequally yoked" because, logically speaking, there is an unevenness or division of beliefs.
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?"
Think about it. If dad is an atheist, and mom is a Roman Catholic, by whose belief system are they going to raise little Johnny? "Oh, we will just raise him to be open-minded and be exposed to the best of both worlds, then he can make up his own mind," is the common reply. Sounds easy, but when put in to real life application more often than not fails miserably because Johnny is getting mixed messages from people whose duty it is to care for and guide him. Then, when little Johnny gets older, whose belief system is going to dominate when its time to decide if Johnny attends a public school, or enrolls in a private Christian institution? Will Christmas and Easter be celebrated for its true spiritual significance, or will secularism win out, and Christ born and risen tossed to the wayside?
Obviously, such an "unequally yoked" marriage would have great obstacles to overcome, that is, if they could be overcome. In this case, either husband or wife would have to compromise their own faith in order for resolution to be found, and the probable growing resentment could be disastrous.
My dear friends, if we believe that the word of God is the will of God, then perhaps it would behoove us to take more time to see what our Creator truly has to say, rather than to pass on worn misquotes that have a semblance of truth, yet are not fully accurate. Just as one cannot understand a novel by letting it simply gather dust, or merely reading a few pages here or there, likewise, the Bible must be opened and read before its significance can be withheld.
Contributed by Melanie Schurr (Copyright (c)2005 Melanie Schurr) Melanie Schurr is author of "Ecstatic Living: A Christian marriage manual and Life-guide", "Son Salutations" and "Daily Contemplations", a collection of read-one-a-day modern inspirations. For more information, visit www.MelanieSchurr.com
Easter is a time for Christians to come face to face with their faith. Our foundation, which rests in Christ Jesus, is presented through the son of God's death and resurrection. For this reason, Easter is not just a holiday, but more importantly, a holy day.
Just as we may become so caught up in the festivities of dying eggs, Easter egg hunts, purchasing chocolates for baskets, and planning the traditional ham dinner, that we may miss or not give this holy day its just benevolence, it is equally common for Christians to miss some of the messages taught within its own cherished Scriptures.
The most misquoted Bible verse is, "Money is the root of all evil."
Money is evil, you say? How can that be when money can buy food to feed the hungry, pay for the medical care of the sick and dying, and when donated to noble arenas can help fund necessary scientific research for the betterment of mankind?
If this makes no sense to you, it is because what the Bible really says is, "For the love of money is the root of all evil." (Timothy, 6:10)
Now that makes sense! After all, think about why most crimes are committed. Someone is trying to beat the system for the sake of personal gain. The robber, mugger, and wife who is hiring the hit man to knock off her husband who has a large insurance policy, all are willing to do the unthinkable so that they may somehow easily cash in. Morality and common decency is set to the wayside, and it is their love of money that allows the almighty dollar to become their god. This is the evil, not money, per say..
Scriptural misquotes can even be used to support racism, making it appear the Bible supports not mixing the races. The argument goes something like this, "Even God says we should not be unequally yoked!" Sorry to disappoint any KKK supporters out there who use this distortion to condone their own hatred and ignorance, but this particular verse in 2 Corinthians 6:14 refers to believers marrying unbelievers. Such a hook-up is regarded as being "unequally yoked" because, logically speaking, there is an unevenness or division of beliefs.
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?"
Think about it. If dad is an atheist, and mom is a Roman Catholic, by whose belief system are they going to raise little Johnny? "Oh, we will just raise him to be open-minded and be exposed to the best of both worlds, then he can make up his own mind," is the common reply. Sounds easy, but when put in to real life application more often than not fails miserably because Johnny is getting mixed messages from people whose duty it is to care for and guide him. Then, when little Johnny gets older, whose belief system is going to dominate when its time to decide if Johnny attends a public school, or enrolls in a private Christian institution? Will Christmas and Easter be celebrated for its true spiritual significance, or will secularism win out, and Christ born and risen tossed to the wayside?
Obviously, such an "unequally yoked" marriage would have great obstacles to overcome, that is, if they could be overcome. In this case, either husband or wife would have to compromise their own faith in order for resolution to be found, and the probable growing resentment could be disastrous.
My dear friends, if we believe that the word of God is the will of God, then perhaps it would behoove us to take more time to see what our Creator truly has to say, rather than to pass on worn misquotes that have a semblance of truth, yet are not fully accurate. Just as one cannot understand a novel by letting it simply gather dust, or merely reading a few pages here or there, likewise, the Bible must be opened and read before its significance can be withheld.
Contributed by Melanie Schurr (Copyright (c)2005 Melanie Schurr) Melanie Schurr is author of "Ecstatic Living: A Christian marriage manual and Life-guide", "Son Salutations" and "Daily Contemplations", a collection of read-one-a-day modern inspirations. For more information, visit www.MelanieSchurr.com
