I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most reading this today will have heard of some of these sayings:
Don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.
This too shall pass.
God helps those who help themselves.
God wants me to be happy.
Heaven gained another angel.
God won’t give me/you more than I/you can handle.
Etc., etc., etc.
You get the idea. Maybe you have said some of these to a loved one or believed them to be in the Bible. A lot of people, both unbeliever and believer believe these sayings to be in the Bible. But they are not.
Take the first saying: “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.”. Do you know that that saying directly opposes Scripture?
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” - Colossians 3:1-2
Yet, I’ll bet you someone reading this blog post will get their feelings twisted and cape up for the unbiblical saying because they believe in it so strongly. The “Yeah but…” crowd. Now, some of these sayings are fine. I have used them a time or two in my life. Especially the “This too shall pass” when I have walked through difficult circumstances. But I do not or have not attributed it to Scripture or put it equal. Especially when the saying contradicts biblical truth.
Therein lies the problem: ignorance and the desire to stay that way.
In Hosea 4:6 God is giving the business to His people and says “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”. An Old Testament truth that still applies to God’s people today. Ignorance of the Word is one thing. We all are there at some point. But the desire to stay that way is a very dangerous place to be. Why? Because you end up believing the above quotes are the inspired Word of God and then proclaim it as such.
We literally destroy ourselves because we will not read our Bibles. We destroy ourselves because we’d rather have a nice catchphrase or snazzy Biblical sounding quote to post.
Please stop. If we say that we are born again believers in Jesus Christ then we should also be reading His Word and growing in our faith.
It is that simple. If we are born again.
Someone once told me “This too shall pass” was their favorite Bible verse.