To say that the Bible is a masterpiece is an understatement. It is a manuscript containing 66 different books over a period of 1,500 years authored by 40 different people. Farmers, kings, shepherds, musicians, prophets, fisherman and many others all compiled pieces into the works known as the Old and New Testament. Yet, despite all of these differences, the pattern of the Bible is one solid narrative through mankind’s fall, redemption and the reconciliation of God and man. It is a divinely inspired book. However, we as Christians have a tendency to misuse its words, twisting them to meet our own agendas and prerogatives. While there are a limitless number of applications to the text of scripture, there is only one meaning. The following are three verses that we as Christians bend in order to fit our agendas.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Growing up, I heard this verse quoted a lot. A lot of people used this verse for encouragement when their teenager or young adult walked out on the church. The parents would remind themselves that they raised their children right, taught them verses, lived out the gospel and even got their son/daughter to make a profession of faith as a small child. Then, upon leaning on this verse as a white knuckled promise that God would one day lead their child back into the faith. While God is definitely in the business of bringing wayward children home, this verse is not a promise that this will happen.

The book of Proverbs is a very unique book of the Old Testament. It is historically part of the wisdom literature (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon). Most of the book is written by Solomon, while a few chapters are written by a couple other authors. In this book, the authors focus more on giving guidelines and pieces of wisdom rather than concrete promises. Additionally, this verse is actually better read as a warning, not a proverb of encouragement. When looking at the context of the passage, it is warning to parents that if they let their child follow their own selfish natures, then when their child is old they will not depart from it.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

This is one that is commonly seen as the life verses of college graduates or painted on the wall of people’s homes. It sounds good when it is picked out on its own, but when put back into its original context, the picture is much different. Jeremiah was written after the Babylonian captivity had taken place in 596 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar had taken a large number of Israel’s best and brightest citizens to live in Babylon. Jeremiah wrote the passage found in chapter 29:11 to a hurting people. He reminded them that God had a plan for them as a people and that God was not through with them as a nation. He reminded them to live in the land that they had been brought into, to have a life there, but to remember that one day God will one day bring them back out to the land of their forefathers. Even though most of the people would not see this promise’s fruition (for the captivity lasted for seventy years), the people had the opportunity to hold onto this while they lived out their exile.

Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”

This verse has been used by many well-meaning people to promise physical healing to those who are sick. By claiming the promise of Jesus’ wounds on the cross, we are healed from our physical diseases. At least, that is how the train of logic goes. However, this passage has nothing to do with physical sickness. Isaiah 53 is known as the “Song of the Suffering Servant.” It is a chapter of the Bible written by the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. In the passage, Isaiah meticulously shows the way Christ will one day sacrifice His life for the sins of the world. This passage never talks about mankind’s physical infirmities, but it does talk a great deal about their spiritual ones. The basic premise of the passage is that there is a Savior coming who will suffer the penalty of mankind’s sin, rescue them and interceded for them. The suffering servant (Jesus) would indeed heal the wounds of the people. Not their physical ones, but the spiritual ones, making them whole one day again.