Filtering God’s Word should never be the goal. One thing I’ve learned while reading the Bible and hearing God’s Word preached is its unchanging truth. What is real about God, and His word two thousand years ago is still accurate today.
1 John 4:1 — “Dear friend, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
A Warning on Filtering God’s Word
We all have filters that we pass information through. We have those same filters when we are giving information back out. The challenge is that the filter tends to be formed by bias, political party, culture, personality, communication style, and more. I’ve seen people say they spend 4 hours per day in the Word of God and as soon as they close the book, they are on social media responding to every trigger meme they run across in a way I can only describe as “Testimony Killing.” You can’t worship God in one breathe and hate others in the next.
1 John 4:20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
The good thing concerning these so-called Christians spewing hatred in all forms on social media is you can block or even unfriend them, and they fade away. But for the wife of that man, it’s an everyday front row seat to this point of view. They cannot turn it off, and for some, they pray they could.
God’s Word Doesn’t Need Your Agenda
When you are communicating with your wife about God’s word, you should be delivering what God has said, not what you think. If there is a question about what God is saying, pray about it, research it, and then discuss it. If you communicate with your wife in this way, she will want to hear God’s word, struggles, and other topics. If you read God’s word with an agenda of beating people up with your agenda, then your wife will be less inclined to speak with you about these things.
There was a time when science tried to prove the earth was the center of the universe and all the planets revolved around it. There was a time when we put cocaine in soda. There was a time when a man tried to wipe out the Jewish nation. There was a time when people went to war about whether slavery was right or wrong. As you can see, we don’t always get it right even when we are screaming we are.
The Substance of God’s Word
The one who gets it right all the time is God. Filtering God’s Word isn’t necessary because it’s already perfect. So, as our focus verse says, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Men, we have a responsibility to reflect God in our speech. Women/Family…test the spirit to make sure we are in aligning with God’s word. If we are, then join us in praising God. If we are not, then open the Bible and read God’s word to us.
About the Author: Tj Todd is the President of UNCOMMEN and the CEO of Studio490 Creative Services.
For more reading materials on the power of the Bible and why filtering isn’t the best solution, read:
Thank you.
Great word and well put! Thank you for your consistency and dedication to the Kingdom of God!
I am so blessed with this teaching. Many Christians have been decieve bcoz they are despirate for miracle nd fast solutions to their challenges especially in Africa.
Thanks nd Godbless.