Putting Things in Context

Today is Day 1 of the mini vacation. We are staying at my mom and dad's house and I am trying to treat it like a house we rented for the week to get away from it all. Of course, AJ's not here and Jeff has to work so it is only a little like a vacation. But I plan to enjoy some downtime.

This past weekend my friend Tricia brought a short "blurb" in a magazine to my attention. It once again reminded me that we really need to watch what we read and make sure that we check facts to see that what we are being "fed" is the correct information. The gist of the blurb was two simple sentences that fell under the title of, "When tragedy happens, is it from God?" The article said that James 1:17 says every good gift is from God. The writer concludes that since this is the case, bad things never come from God. What follows is my letter to the editor of this magazine about the blurb. I haven't sent it yet as I would love to discuss this further to be sure that I too am not taking things out of context.

“When tragedy happens, is it from God?”

First, the statement is taken completely out of context. This section of James 1 is about trials and temptations. The discussion of trials is found in verses 2-12. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1: 2-4) From here James discusses briefly how to ask for wisdom and why those who face trials should feel blessed. The section on trials ends with: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him,” (James 1:12). No where in here is the verse about all good gifts coming from God.

The next section speaks to temptation. A reading of 13 -15 reveals that God does not tempt. According to the passage, temptation is a result of desire. Desire can then give birth to sin and sin to death. That is what is said directly before the passage quoted in the blurb. Verses 16 -18, “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.” So while the writer wants us to consider verse 17 when thinking of trials, the context is given in terms of temptation. The fastest way to discredit your statements are to give facts out of context.

Second, let’s consider verse 17 by itself, as the writer did. The summation of the verse from the blurb says that “every good gift comes from God.” While this is a true statement, the conclusion of “Therefore, if it is not good it can’t be from God” is flawed logic. Following that train of thought I could say “Germs causes illness, therefore if it is not a germ it cannot cause illness.” The first part of the statement is correct. Germs do in fact cause illness. However, taking it to the next statement causes it to be incorrect. We all know that illness may be caused by more than just germs. Similarly, God does in fact give every good gift however, the verse does not PROVE that bad things do not come from God.

Proof that God can and has caused bad things can be found throughout the bible: Job, Jeremiah, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Great Flood, etc. I believe, that while it is a great comfort to think that bad things can’t come from a loving God, it just is not backed up by the bible. We are His children and can therefore be rebuked and even punished by Him as is the case by our earthly parents. And in the same way, it is done in a spirit of love by a God who wants to see us learn and be our very best selves.

Please read James 1: 2 -18 and tell me if you agree with these statements. This has opened several discussions for our family about being careful how we use scripture, understanding that we have to be sure to check claims written about scripture, and the importance of God's discipline in our lives. So comment away!