chew your food before swallowing

CHEW YOUR FOOD BEFORE SWALLOWING!
or
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bible

scripture is a really fantastic thing. every time i pick up my Bible (or browse to biblegateway.com, depending on the translation i want and whether i left my Bible out in my car, hehe), i'm continually renewed, amazed, broken, moulded.

but when you read scripture, do you take the time to break it down into little pieces, try to really chew it well until it's just a puree inside your metaphorical mouth? roll it around on your tongue like smoke from a fine cigar or pipe, savor the rich flavour as you would a whiskey or wine?

i really hope so; i really, really do! it's how it was meant to be read. if not, let's change that now!

G-d speaks to everyone a little (or maybe even a lot!) differently, i think. but here's the basic process for how i personally go about breaking scripture down and how i try to draw the full flavour of it.

we'll be using Colossians 3, NIV unless otherwise noted.

1. read it over
2. sectionalize
3. context
4. comparison to general gospel/rest of Bible
5. relation to my/others life/lives
6. changes that would need to be necessary
7. rinse, repeat

READ IT OVER

at this stage we just want to give an initial read over the selection. don't worry about trying to think about it- we want to focus on initial reactions, interesting things that stick out to you (i've had some prophecies revealed to my heart this way). let it speak to your heart and put your mind on the backburner for now. this helps you get a general feeling of what it's about, for whom it's written, and really just a "feel" for it.

when i read over Col. 3, i get the general message of the word "unite".


SECTIONALIZE/CONTEXT/COMPARISON/ETC.

(okay. i cheated a bit. steps 2-6/7 are really seamless, as they really occur simultaneously. but they roughly occur in the procedure mentioned above. i suppose i really could have made the list only two items, but is that really a list? we'll leave that koan[1] for another day.)

luckily, this is usually done for you already through the in-chapter sections and paragraph breaks instead of trying to determine where to form a section yourself.

in this example, we see two sections with headers in bold: Rules for Holy Living and Rules for Christian Households.

we also notice several paragraph breaks under each of these.

"1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. "

verses 1-4 deals with a summary message, which is common. it's telling us to rejoice in the newfound life in Christ, and to abandon our old "lives"- the thin veil of self-deception that we are masters of our own lives, that there aren't consequences, that we are not incredibly intertwined with others and calls us to realise that EVERYTHING we do affects the lives of others, even if we think it doesn't and we aren't hurting anyone else.


"5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all."

verses 5-11 give an interesting perspective. it's the message of equality. (hmm.. odd, there it is- unity! one of unity's hurdles is inequality). under Christ, we are all equal. the thief, the rapist, the priest, the hermit, the seven-year-old girl. (buddhists will instantly recognise this as Oneness). unlike the teachings of the buddha and bodhisattvas, however, we have something we are all truly equal UNDER- Christ. by the love of Hashem, we are bound together as children in a huge family.[2] MORE than just a family, we are a BODY! we all have different abilities (the eyes can see ahead and watch out for danger or direction, the skeleton supports and protects, the mouth serves to communicate to others, the fingers mould and touch and feel, the feet carry, etc.) and yet all these parts must work WITH each other. not only with, but integrally- the feet will stumble and trip and stub their toes if not for the eyes, who know what direction to take based upon the sensations of the fingers, who depend on the mouth who speaks for them, who needs the skeleton to give it proper shape of voice and tonation, etc. if one of these parts is missing, then there is more strain and even flat-out limitation put on the other parts of the body. verses 3-11 call us to be pure in Y'shua Moshiach, in order to keep our Body healthy (does it show that i'm a firm believer of holistic health, and "interconnectedness" of things?). if your stomach is empty, your mind suffers. in this way, if one part of the Body is in pain or hindered, even- Chas veShalom[3]!- by another part of the own Body by "illness" (malice, lust, greed, etc.), then the rest of the Body suffers- including the offending part, since it depends on the rest of the Body (even if it does not want to).


"12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

AHA! aaaaand boom goes the dynamite. THERE'S THE WORD! "unity."
this is, if you will, the "prescription for vitamins"- this is what keeps the Body strong, healthy, happy, and working in excellent shape. and Love is, if you will, echinacea- it is a source of overall health and what helps the entire Body, and binds it together (thusly pushing it towards unity).


"15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

it's funny. when i read over the chapter in that first step, it was a skim- i flat out skipped some words. but somehow both "unity" and the concept of the Body came to my mind, AND here they are, showing up in the actual content. mild prophecy, subconscious absorption, memory from sermons past.. it doesn't matter what it is, what matters is that it is put on my heart. and it's really encouraging to go in-depth and have it affirmed. but moving on, we see here further "prescriptions"- be of peace and understanding, but do not hesitate to admonish those that are falling ("diagnosing the sick/injured body parts"). i could spend an entire entry on this topic (and i will add it to the to-do list if any of my readers.. all three? of them- want me to) but i want to really just sum it up here and mention this: it's okay for us to be frank, honest (perhaps sometimes even when it may hurt us, them, or both), and diagnostic/of good discernment/of good judgment (NOT judgmental/critical. dictionary.com if you don't understand the difference) of our FRIENDS and/or FAMILY but NOT our Body of believers? i think it's because we fear being called hypocrites. and we WILL be called hypocrites. people quite often get defensive when shown their ugly selves- i know i do! but we call these faults in others because- and this is the important one- WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME FOR US. FOR us. not TO us. the eye does not know it's gone missing unless the finger pokes around an empty socket, and the mouth tells the eyesocket. that was a bit of a grisly and slightly-off analogy, but you understand it i hope. the important thing is to always, always bring concerns up in the Body in the name of our L-rd Jesus the Christ and NEVER for reasons of malice, defensiveness, "keeping score", vengeance, etc. for these will lead to the defilement, infection, and eventual destruction of your heart.


"18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord."

well, i spent some time talking about this in a previous entry but just for a quick recap- wives, it's okay to trust your husbands. they love you, they care about you, and they want what's best for you, them, children (if any), pets (hah. kidding! well, 95% kidding), and MOST importantly the L-rd. i mean, that IS one of the reasons you married them, right? if not, well.. you've got to start off at a much more basic level :) (for you single lay-deez out there, don't marry a man you refuse to submit to- to fully trust in the name of Y'shua. i'm telling you now, it will really make things easier down the road). abandon your worries and trust the L-rd and your husband.


"19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. "

again, i previously touched upon this but i've been talking with a very, very dear friend of mine (female). she said the greatest fear of a woman's heart is abandonment. husbands, when you are harsh with your wives, or when they feel as if you do not love them, you have abandoned them. you have made their greatest fear come true. ALWAYS, ALWAYS ALWAYS make your wives feel loved, desired (not only physically but mentally, emotionally/romantically, and spiritually as well), and pursued. be sure to let her know that she is important to you, and that you are GLAD she's in your life. marriage is to be a BLESSING, not a curse- an enrichment, and one you would miss very, very much if it were not in your life.


"20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."

hoo, boy.
it took me 22 years to realize my parents were not the bad guys. (well, perhaps shorter than that if you factor in the lack of self-actualization and self-consciousness, the concept of parents, early childhood, etc. but bear with me)
in fact, once i moved out, i realized that my parents are pretty darn cool people. sure, my mom and i might not agree 100% and my dad might be a little geeky and aloof, but they did a pretty bang-up job of raising me through hell and highwater and i appreciate that. hindsight is 20/20, and i feel like any teenagers reading this are going "ew, my parents are ghey, whatevs" (that's how the kids talk these days, i'm told) but it's true- your parents are not your enemy. they just care an awful lot about you. sometimes it's really hard for them to be able to show it in a way for you to understand, though. why don't you take the time and show THEM that YOU care about them? this gives them an idea how THEY can show YOU how they care about you.

plus they have this whole "life-experience" thing that's really frickin' useful.


"21Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged."
and mothers, too. don't think you get out of this.

let me tell you about myself. i hate organized sports. i think they're the most ridiculous, juvenile, incomprehensible waste of time. but you better believe that if my son wants to be on the football/soccer/baseball/etc. team, or my daughter wants to be on the softball/volleyball/etc. team (or hey! who knows, maybe even vice versa!), then i will want to come as often as possible to see my darling girl or my dear boy play. same goes with band, choir, etc.

if your children have dreams, challenge them. if your children have hopes, help them. if your children have a heart for the L-rd and a desire for good things, encourage them.

if your child desires unwise decisions, then do not flat out act with full ultimatums. compromise, seek understanding with them, help them understand your concerns. teenagers are pretty bright these days (even though they do some pretty stupid things), and taking the time to really get to know each others' stance can save plenty of heartache down the road. you DO, of course, get final say- but if your child grows bitter from your parenting methods, you may and most likely will lose your child(ren) to the Cynic's Death. speaking from experience, that is a very, very hard thing to overcome- and most never do.


"2Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism."

this, obviously, is not entirely culturally relevant. but an important note to take is slave, here, refers to a state slightly more restricted than indentured servant. slaves were usually treated very VERY well during these times. often even regarded as members of the family.
in fact, it was probably a much more preferred situation to be in than modern-day slaves- working for a temp agency, for example, where you are technically "sold" and treated as an "asset" rather than a human being (that's what was partly so atrocious about the early US slaveries, correct? funny how it's still happening, just has a different face...).


and with that, we're wrapped up. but the last step- the rinse and repeat- means let it soak in a while, roll it around in your mind, and meditate on it for the next couple of days or so. and always feel free to come back and review it, and repeat the whole thing over again. :)





POST-POST NOTES:

• sometimes it's easier to understand the "context" of a chapter if you examine the history surronding the times- for instance, Colossians is a letter (supposedly by Paul. there is some argument that it is, and some that it is not. i don't care either way; it's excellent advice so i don't give two hoots who actually wrote it as long as it is sound with the will of the L-rd) to a church of believers. wikipedia is a great start to finding information on a book or chaper perhaps, and will hopefully also provide some challenging things for you to think about from critics.
• context is also sometimes much easier gleaned by using different translations of the Bible. i usually use NIV; i understand it, i grew up with it, and it's pretty complete. sometimes i struggle with the language in it though (it IS- what, 50? years old or so) so i'll turn to the New Living Translation, or the Message, for a more culturally relative phrasing. alternatively, sometimes i feel the NIV "skimps" on some parts of the more poetic books- Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs/Solomon, etc. and for this i'll sometimes use KJV. the language is much more romantic and poetic in that translation.
• outlining helps. it really, really does. and i hate outlines. so that says a lot.
• MAKE TIME to read the Bible!
  

a. Colossians 3:4 Some manuscripts our
b. Colossians 3:6 Some early manuscripts coming on those who are disobedient

[1] a koan is a zen buddhist puzzle, not really intending to have a "true" answer but intended moreso for meditation and po
[2] remind me to post the taoist tale of the stonecutter, as it holds some minor relevance to the concept of oneness and unity.
[3] "G-d forbid"