I found another truncated verse meme and posted about it:
Here's another truncated verse meme. SIGH.
The actual verse is: " I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
By including the entirety of the verse, the emphasis shifts from the individual to God. You can also see the parallelism here. Setting God before you strengthens you.
But let's look at the whole psalm:
Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in Thee.
I said to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord;
I have no good besides Thee."
As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their libations of blood,
Nor shall I take their names upon my lips.
The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
Thou dost support my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
I will bless the LORD who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
I have set the LORD continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.
Thou wilt make known to me the path of life;
In Thy presence is fulness of joy;
In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.
~Psalm 16 (NASB 1977)
Setting God before you strengthens you, yes, but the larger message is that we are sustained and strengthened and satiated when we have our refuge in God.
Or maybe you would put it another way.
To me, the point is to embrace the fullness of Scripture. Please do not take out slivers of verses and represent them as the whole. And please read around the verses and even the chapters ... especially before you create your "inspiring" meme.
The actual verse is: " I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
By including the entirety of the verse, the emphasis shifts from the individual to God. You can also see the parallelism here. Setting God before you strengthens you.
But let's look at the whole psalm:
Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in Thee.
I said to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord;
I have no good besides Thee."
As for the saints who are in the earth,
They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their libations of blood,
Nor shall I take their names upon my lips.
The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
Thou dost support my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
I will bless the LORD who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
I have set the LORD continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.
Thou wilt make known to me the path of life;
In Thy presence is fulness of joy;
In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.
~Psalm 16 (NASB 1977)
Setting God before you strengthens you, yes, but the larger message is that we are sustained and strengthened and satiated when we have our refuge in God.
Or maybe you would put it another way.
To me, the point is to embrace the fullness of Scripture. Please do not take out slivers of verses and represent them as the whole. And please read around the verses and even the chapters ... especially before you create your "inspiring" meme.
Later, I was sitting there thinking about this and it struck me that I spotted both of the truncated verses because they were from my beloved Psalter. I know that book of the Bible so well. However, surely when it comes to truncated-verse-meme-making, psalm verses are not the only ones truncated for ... well ... editing for effect.
What was the intended effect in this one? The group it was posted in was one for chronic illness. Since living with chronic illness is a battle, I suppose "I will not be shaken" is a good message for the intended audience. But when I look at the rest of the verse, it is as if the meme creator stripped God right out of the verse. If that is the case, then why quote a bible verse in the first place?
But, back to my earth-shattering realization ... just how many of the bible verse memes how there might have been edited for effect on intended audience? For that matter, how about bible verses in devotionals and bible studies? How many of those might be truncated? These days, with fact-checking and editing on the decline, I wouldn't be surprised if the answer is a whole heck of a lot of verses.
Lest I forget to take the log out of my own I, I will admit that there is a verse that I often share only in part. I do so because of emphasis. And it is such a lovely little sentiment. When I share it, as I do if ever ever sharing just part of a verse, I try to make clear that there are missing parts either by using a letter with the verse reference number or using ellipsis or both.
What verse do I find myself truncating? Act 17:28. "For in him we move and breathe and have our very being." Well, that's how I learned it in a bible study. The first two parts are not exactly accurate since breathing is not even mentioned (though it was back in verse 25). However, if you look at all the translations, it is clear that someone added the word "very" for emphasis. As what is often common is to take phrasing from more than one translation and create a bit of a mash-up.
for in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' (NIV)
for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ (NASB)
for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (KJV)
for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ (ESV)
For in Him we live and move and are.' As also some of the poets among you have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' (BLB)
But if you actually set aside how lovely a sentiment it is to be able to share (for in Him we move and breathe and have our very being), something you might note amongst the different translations is the punctuation differences. To comma or not to comma! And, if looking carefully at the punctuation, you might notice different sets of quotation marks.
Yep, sadly, my own truncating (in my defense I truncate because I learned it this way), there was even more truncating taking place. You see, this half line that has such a lovely sentiment that is oh, so quotable is actually part a sermon. Yes, well, certainly one ought not to go around truncating sermons!
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ “Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:22-31 NASB 1977)
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ “Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:22-31 NASB 1977)
Now, I am not going to start an exegesis of Paul's sermon on Mars Hill. I cannot even begin to go down that road. But I can say that the point of the sermon was not the lovely sentiment. The point of the sermon was to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
But, really, I think we should back up even further from where we started.
Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was beholding the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. And some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these things mean.” (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ “Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” So Paul went out of their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. (Acts 17:16-34 NASB 1977).
Gosh, now we are looking at some context, eh? It wasn't that Paul was reaching out for a local reference. He was preaching the Good News whilst pointing out a grievous error in the ways of the folk of Athens. We are certainly no longer on this narrow focus of God as the author and creator of our lives.
And, now, let's take another step back and look at the whole chapter:
Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and coming upon the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. And when they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And they stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.
And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there likewise, agitating and stirring up the crowds. And then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. Now those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was beholding the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. And some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these things mean.” (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ “Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” So Paul went out of their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. (Acts 17 NASB 1977).
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’ “Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” So Paul went out of their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. (Acts 17 NASB 1977).
Holy cow! Are we ever far away from that lovely little sentiment! We're in the middle of a missionary journey and how God caused His word to move out from Calgary across the world, using, incidentally, one of the biggest critics of His Son to do so!
I know it is increasingly unpopular to write the lengthy post, to read the lengthy passage, to actually wait whilst folk pick up a bible and flip to a passage and read along with you. However, that act is so very important. Sometimes, you will see a passage printed out in a bulletin or devotional, but that still draws one away from the bigger picture and takes that first tiny step toward truncating. A step that, for me, led to this whole bible study on how to live for God since He is the author and creator of our lives. It is not that serving God is not a laudable area of study, but it is not the point of that one half of Act 17:28.
And, to be honest, I couldn't tell you that until right this very moment because all these years I knew I have been truncating the verse, but I never went back and took the time to read all around it to understand how badly distorted I was presenting the verse.
Pot.
Kettle.
Black.
Even if the passage is faithfully printed out for the reader, the rest of the context is still missing. And having the passage pulled out of context does not encourage the reader to go delve into the Bible herself/himself to see what else is there.
Now, I am not saying that it is not useful or even appropriate at times to pull out a verse (or two or three) to use to teach, to reprove, to build up. I am actually a huge fan of scripture memorization and believe the Church would be much better off if we brought that back for all ages, both instructionally and socially (e.g., Have a cross-generational scripture memory contest at the next pot luck!). But I do have greater and greater concern that the scripture memes popping up on social media might actually be doing harm ... at least with regards to biblical literacy if not spiritual harm.
I wonder ... you have the promise that God's Word doesn't return void (Isaiah 55:11), but is it actually God's Word if its been edited for emphasis or audience or framing a lovely little sentiment??
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