LIFE LESSON: Bible Scriptures are best read with the Author on board

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I have recently watched a documentary titled Sins of the Amish which gives voice to formerly silenced ex-members of the Amish community, who collectively share their stories of chronic sexual abuse which are common in those  communities.

What stood out for me is that the victims tell of instances where Bible Scriptures were used to justify the abuse. This reminded me that of many other atrocities against human beings that were justified using Bible Scriptures for instance, in some quarters Apartheid in South Africa was justified through Bible Scriptures.

I have also heard of people losing their well earned money to unscrupulous people who used Bible Scriptures to influence them.The Bible has become an important part of my life journey so this got me asking myself how do I protect myself from either being a perpetrator of atrocities against fellow human beings using Bible Scripture or falling into a victim of abuse from people who use Bible Scriptures for their own selfish reasons.

When I reflected on this I learnt the following:

Reading the Bible without the Author

I have previously read the Bible on my own without the Author but I was unable to apply the principles I learnt to my daily life,they did not seem relevant. This is so because when I read the Bible without the Author I am inclined to interpret it to fulfill my will and not the will of the Author as it was intended.This also leads to out of context interpretation.

When I brought the Author on board I was able to see the relevance of the Scriptures in my daily life because I am now able to interpret them as they were intended.

Ability to discern truth

There were a lot of difficult passages which I struggled to understand before I brought the Author on board. As a result I left it to others to interpret the book for me, but that left me open to abuse from people with selfish motives. I still listen to others who are called to share Scriptures but since I started reading on my own with the assistance of the Author I am now able to discern between those who are interpreting them as intended and those who are using them for selfish reasons.

Bible Scriptures have become essential reading to me and since I brought the Author on board by aligning myself with his will they have opened up to me in ways I never thought possible as I journey towards wholeness.

The takeaway for me is that to avoid being a victim of false teachings and to get the full benefit of Bible Scriptures I have a responsibility to read them on my own but never without the Author.

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