Taking Things out of Context

I think there's a very important thing that's talked about in the church that is regarded as a highly dangerous activity in regards to the efficacy of the Bible, and why it's so important to refrain from taking things out of context. The thing that seems to have taken the church by storm is that this concept is usually used by "non-believers" to argue the justice of God, or used in a situation where someone is taking Paul's letters out of the context of what they originally meant. Personally, I don't care for the concept and think it's a bunch of bolognas to claim you can avoid taking the Bible out of context especially if you plan on preaching it. Look at how the Pharisees used the Bible, people who the church today often forgets includes Jesus. They took principles, not phrases, usually out of the context of the original verse. However, there were many times that when Jesus quoted scripture He would also be pointing to something in the original passage that should have been known by the people who He was quoting them to. 

I once asked God about how to not take things out of context, perceiving that it was a legitimate issue. He responded, "it's very hard to. Especially if you want to work in a niche ministry that doesn't affect a ton of people." So I asked what He meant by that and He said: "well you either have to put everything into context within the entire Bible and when discussing an issue visit every passage that ever mentions the subject, directly or indirectly, or you allow me to fill you up with my word and refrain from quoting things from scripture as what you say will contain the shadows of my word that I want to express through you." Yesterday I was talking to Him more about this concept, and He simply said "try putting your life INTO the context of the Bible, rather than trying to extrapolate OUT of the Bible." 

I think that when we alienate the text of the Bible to something we cannot at all relate to is far more dangerous than when we take verses or concept out of context. Why not bother putting every situation you encounter into scripture, for the purpose of seeing what God says about it? We need to make a focus of rather than extracting, of inserting. I think we, as a church, should be some of the most influential and effective empaths. We should be able to empathize with Barabbas, Peter, David, Bathsheba, Deborah, Joshua. Often times there is a cultural divide to get over, but if you can't get over the cultural divide then you really got issues to work out. 

I'm talking mostly to you Americans who have never bothered to get to know your Mexican or Black brothers and sisters who live in the same neighborhood as you or bothered to try to understand their culture. There's an infinite amount of contexts that you can choose from, but try to at least have an emotional language to express with them to put their and your situations into an emotion both of you know well.