Sticks and Stones

We have got to stop using the Bible as a club—something we swing to beat people over the head with.

Scripture was not given to us as ammunition for our arguments, but as a revelation meant to form us, humble us, and draw us into the life of God. It was not written so that we could win debates, justify ourselves, or force others into agreement. It was given so that we might be searched, known, and transformed.

Too often, we quote verses not to listen, but to reinforce what we already believe. We lift words out of their setting and press them into the service of our worldview, rather than allowing them to confront it. We approach Scripture already certain of our conclusions and then go hunting for support.

David did not write Psalm 139 so that thousands of years later it could be weaponized in modern political or cultural battles. He wrote it as a prayer—an awed, trembling confession before a God who knows him fully and loves him still. It is the cry of a man standing exposed before divine mercy, not a manifesto for others.

When Scripture stops shaping our hearts and starts serving our agendas, something has gone wrong. When we read the Bible primarily to correct others rather than to be corrected ourselves, we are no longer submitting to it—we are using it.

The Word of God is living and active, but its first work is inward. It searches me before it speaks to you. It humbles before it instructs. It wounds in order to heal.

If our reading of Scripture does not lead us toward humility, mercy, and love, we may need to pause and ask whether we are truly listening—or merely quoting.

Prayer

Search me, O God, and know my heart.
Not so that I may prove myself right,
but so that I may be made right.

Deliver me from the urge to use Your Word as a weapon.
Teach me to receive it as light,
as truth that corrects me before it corrects anyone else.

Let Scripture soften what has grown hard,
quiet what has grown defensive,
and form in me a heart that reflects Yours.

Amen.