Is your mental-grip too TIGHT on Scripture? If so, then you may be the victim of TOXIC TENSION, a spiritual disease which keeps you from walking fluidly, peacefully and powerfully with Jesus. Let me make a sports analogy. More and more, the Too-Tight-a-Grip-Syndrome is hindering and harming athletes who play tennis, golf, and baseball. Research shows more and more the pervasive problems and dangers of over-gripping. Experts such as teaching pros, playing pros, doctors and physical therapists are spending a lot of resources to help their pupils and patients quickly realize, recognize and reverse over-gripping errors. The numbers overwhelmingly point to the fact that injuries are on the increase due to the toxic tension produced by an overly tight grip. Tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, wrist injuries and shoulder problems occur most frequently due to tight stressful swings. Moreover, over-gripping produces tension all over the body, which further inhibits power and proper swing mechanics. Finger-sleeves, along with other techniques, are being utilized which help alert players to over-gripping. The player who learns to eliminate toxic tension will experience a much stronger, smoother and fluid swing. Lets apply this same dynamic the mental over-gripping of Scriptures. Those who over-grip Scripture will be slaves to the the toxic tension which by the letter Bible-reading produces. They will read all Scripture literally, legalistically, and, sadly, LETHALLY. Lethally? Oh yes. 2 Corinthians 3:6 says that Bible-reading by the letter kills. What does it kill? Everything. It kills our faith, and makes God out to be a killer of men. Conversely, reading the Scriptures by the Spirit eliminates ALL toxic tension and allows us to read RESURRECTION LIFE in all the Scriptures. Here is the key. We need to modify our use of language to conform to the Spirit RATHER than trying to force the Spirit to legalistically conform to our language. Its not about the over-gripping letter, but about the truth-revealing Spirit. The way Jesus read Scripture is soooo instructive. Jesus usage of scripture was allusive, paraphrastic, and eclectic. He was conveying elastic spiritual concepts, not paralyzed phrases which can ONLY be used in their original set -in-concrete manuscript form. In other words, Jesus used a loose-grip with the various texts. Sometimes He appeared to quote the proto-Masoretic Hebrew text (Mark 4:26 alluding to Joel 4:13), sometimes He used the Greek Septuagint (Matthew 21:16 quoting Psalm 8:3), while still other times He would use the Aramaic Targums para-phrases of the Old Testament (Mark 4:12 quoting Isaiah 6:9-10). Jesus knew that it wasnt the letter that mattered, but the conceptual truth the Scripture was pointing at, a truth which pulsates with growth of expression. Doesnt that tell us how God feels about hyper-literalism? Jesus was always more concerned about divine clarity NOW than rigid adherence to PAST human legalism. He hated toxic tension because it keeps people from entering the spiritual rest of God. The PARAPHRASING of Old Testament passages is used throughout the New Testament. If they had the spiritual gumption and poetic license to do it, then so too should we, particularly since 2 Corinthians 3:6 calls us able ministers of the New Covenant... Spirit which gives life! The various manuscripts of Scripture, whether they be Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic, are fluid templates laid over the underground rivers of Zion. Scriptures are not paralyzed phrases buried in cement, but rather are buoyant rafts running the rapids of righteous revelation. They should never insult and degrade each other, but instead complement and enrich one another. As we learn to loosen our mental grip on the texts, the toxic tension caused by our idolatry of language will subside and we will be able to dynamically read, understand and apply the truth of Scripture better than ever.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 15:01:59 +0000
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