I apologize in advance if it seems I’m on my soapbox today. For some reason God stirred this up in me to be on guard about, and I feel like I just have to write what I’m thinking.
I often hear the advice to personalize scripture in prayer or study to apply it to your life or claim a promise. Great! Awesome! I am all for this. God wants a personal relationship with us, and He wants to relate to us personally. Applying scripture to our personal situation helps better connect us with God.
However, we get in trouble if that is the only way we look at scripture. A classic example of this is John 3:16 –
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)
We personalize this verse by substituting “you” for “world” and “whosoever”. “You” is a part of the “world” and “whosoever”, so we are not incorrect in doing this. But, in our “me” oriented society we often begin to think “ignore world and whosoever” and think of this verse only in terms of “you”. We have now changed things. God did not use the word “you” in this verse, He used the word “world”. He wants us to know that we are part of that world. He also wants to know that it is more than about us. His love and His plan are much bigger than just us. He loves all of us individually and as a whole, and the scope of His plan is world wide. When we concentrate only on a “you” version, we will lose sight of some of the greatness of God as focus only on ourselves.
Another example of personalization potentially going too far is when it is suggested that you re-write the scripture to make it apply to you. Then you read the scripture and memorize it in this form. Yes, read the scripture and put it into terms that make it apply to you, but don’t let that be the only way you view the scripture. I personally have a problem with memorizing personalized scripture. If I memorize it as written, I should have no problem personalizing it when needed. If anything, personalized scripture should be a secondary memorization, not your primary resource.
Why do I feel this way? First, we begin to believe that the Bible is all about us. It is not. It is all about God. The good news is that in His lavish love for us, much of what is about Him has benefit to us and for us, so extends to us. Second, we have rewritten scripture, a very dangerous place to be. When we change words to suit ourselves, we run the risk of changing at minimum the scope and possibly the meaning of what God has to say to us. God may have something to say that is bigger than just you, but if you have changed it, you might miss it. Finally, this can be a trap leading to self idolatry. We make everything about us, including God. Our wants and needs become more important than God. They become the gods or “idols” in our lives. If the Bible needs to be all about you, then you prioritize what God can do for you over knowing Him. With Christian maturity comes the growing understanding that He is enough and having a relationship with Him is the point. Don’t let over use of personalization rob you of this truth.
So in summary, I’m not saying don’t personalize scripture. I’m just saying to guard against letting that be the only way you interact with scripture.
Ok, I’m stepping off the soapbox for today. Choose Joy!
