Nancy Hughes: Not what it really means

“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep
the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”
Deuteronomy 4:2 (NIV)


The road sign said “curve – 45 mph” but as a sixteen year old driver, I knew what it really meant. After all, my seventeen year old classmate had told me herself. And she had been driving a year longer than I so she was obviously much wiser.

“They just put those numbers on the signs but it’s not what they really mean,” she told me. “They know everyone will drive faster than that. So when you see 45 mph, it REALLY means you can drive 50 or even 55,” she informed me. And I believed her logic and wisdom . . . until I tried it two weeks later.

“Curve 45 mph means 50,” I mentally reminded myself, and decided that I could go around the curve at 50 mph – well within the “they know everyone will drive faster” logic. That flawed reasoning almost caused me to end up in the ditch.

As I turned into the curve, I realized I didn’t have good control at the higher speed and I ran off the left side of the road, over-corrected to the right and threw gravel from the edge of the road out into a field as I managed to slow my speed to – you guessed it – 45 mph.

Thankfully there were no cars coming from the other direction. My friend’s “it’s not what they really mean” advice – and my willingness to believe it – could have ended tragically.

Not believing what the signs in front of us say can get us into so much trouble when we apply it to God’s Word. Sadly for us, we tend to read what He says and then put our own interpretation on it, to fit whatever situation we are in. No?

In Proverbs 16:28 we are warned not to stir up dissension because “a gossip separates close friends” but we justify our conversations with “this isn’t really gossip – just a comment I overheard” as we change God’s meaning of gossip to fit OUR logic. 

The result? Friends and friendships are torn apart.

We are commanded in Exodus 20:14 not to commit adultery. But the human logic of “I’m not happy anymore, I don’t love him/her like I did, God wants me happy, doesn’t He?” replaces the Word and we put our own spin on God’s commandment for us. And marriages and families are broken in two.

Jesus states very clearly in Matthew 22:39 that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves but we rationalize “surely He doesn’t mean MY neighbor! Their dogs run everywhere, they never mow their lawn right, their kids are too loud” and we ignore the very people that we should be loving as Christ loves us. A possible friendship is replaced by harsh feelings and an unchristian attitude.
My encouragement to you today is to follow Deuteronomy 4:2 in every area of your life. Take Jesus at His Word. Do not add or take away from what He says. He knows what is best for His children. And He truly means what He says.

Father, I have to confess that there are times when I decide to put my own spin on your Word instead of doing as you say. Forgive me for not obeying; help me to follow your commandments of love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

· Can you think of situations where you knew God’s Word but decided that you knew better than He did what He was saying?

· Did you obey Him or did you put your own interpretation in place of His Word?

Apply

· Journal today’s Power Verses. Think over the last few weeks and instances when you needed to apply God’s Word and journal those situations.

· Journal what you did in each one. Did you follow Him or did you change what He said to fit your situation? Ask the Lord to show you how you should have reacted.

Power

· Proverbs 30:5-6 (NIV) “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”

· Deuteronomy 4:2 (NIV) “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”

· II Timothy 3:16 (NIV) “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness . . .”

· Isaiah 40:8 (NIV) “The grass withers and the flowers fail, but the word of our God stands forever.”

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)