This morning I was reading my bible. I am using the One-Year bible reading method that gives you passages to read in order to finish the whole bible in a year. Each day includes a passage from the Old Testament and New Testament, a Psalm and a Proverb. This morning, I was in one of those "win-my-theological-argument" bible reading attitudes. I've been wrestling with an issue that my friend has a differing opinion about. So today, I was on the lookout for anything that would prove my argument. So after reading the Old Testament passage (which I skimmed over because it was irrelevant to my argument) I read a passage from Hebrews that perfectly illustrated my position.
Score:
Kirk: 1
Opponent: 0
Then I read a Psalm that perfectly illustrated my friend's position. Blast!
Score:
Kirk: 1
Opponent: 1
I was a little perplexed. Why is the bible always contradicting itself? Can't God make up his mind about things? I'm looking for concrete answers to life's questions, but the bible seems to be too open ended sometimes, too relative. Sometimes condition A is true and sometimes condition B is true. How am I supposed to win my argument and gloat if the bible won't confirm what an idiot my friend is for contradicting my wonderful pearls of wisdom?
Finally, I read the proverb for the day:
"As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another." -Proverbs 27:17
Boo-yah! The bible just slapped my upside the head and reminded me of how arrogant I was being. No man has perfect insight into the word of God, and we need each other to be able to get a fuller picture of the world. I was blocking out what my friend had to say because their opinion was different than mine. In fact, they weren't even contradicting me; they were adding to what I was thinking in order to give me a fuller picture of the truth.
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