This week end we took the boys camping for the first time this season. As we were setting up, I discovered that I had no power in the camper. The same problem I had that led me to drop $200 to have a new battery installed. I was devastated. My camper didn't work and I had just dropped a lot of money to get it fixed. Because I now knew that the battery was good (yes, I checked, they did give me a new one), I decided to do some trouble shooting. As I started tracing the wires from the battery I found something interesting. The two red wires coming from the battery (yes, two red wires) were connected to each other. I also discovered that the two black wires coming from the camper (yes, two black wires) were also connected to each other. After some simple deduction, I disconnected the black and red wires ate their connectors and connected one red to the black with the appropriate connector and repeated with the remaining wires. Low and behold, I had power.
Luckily, my wife was very nice about it and simply said, "are you done setting it up yet?"
Of course I was, but I wasn't about let the sheer idiocy I was feeling ruin the weekend so I just replied, "yes, dear" as any good husband does. The rest of the weekend went well. The boys enjoyed themselves and my wife and I are worn out. So all in all, a typical camping weekend.
Now for the part you've either been waiting for, or dreading, Manic Monday. Today I am going to be talking context. The society we live in today loves using things that sound the way they want it to sound. It is nothing new, it has been done for millennia One political or religious figure, will use one particular phrase from some source and as it is written it will sound just like he wants it to sound. When someone quotes something to you, get the source and read the entire passage. Sometimes, if you read the entire passage, you find that the original quote means the opposite of what it sounded like. We have all seen this happen in some circumstances. The problem comes when we perpetuate it. We may not do it intentionally, but we have done it. I have as well. You know what I am talking about, you hear a seemingly controversial quote and you pass it on. Either because you agree with it, or because you want to hear others agree with you that it is wrong. But did you hear the entire quote? Was the quote you read meant to be a stand alone quote, or was it part of an entire passage? Think on it. The next time you are planning on passing on a quote you heard, look it up. Read the entire passage. You may be surprised.
Why am I writing this? Over the past few months my Sunday school class has been going over the book of Ephesians in the new testament. The last couple of weeks we have been looking at just such a verse. By itself and out of context, it has been used incorrectly for centuries and has pushed many away from the church and religion. The verse is Ephesians 5:22. I challenge you to read it and look at the context. Compare the words in the original Greek with how they were translated. Look at the entire chapter. Find similar areas and expand on it. Look at the area and era for which it was written. Time and area play a huge part in context. Abraham Lincoln himself used the word negro many times. The difference is that in his time, it wasn't an insult, it was how the African American community was categorized. Where we say black or colored, in the 1800's they used that word. Thus time and area play a huge role in context. I think sometimes we forget this. Just something to think about.
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