Several years ago, when my wife and I were courting, we would send little notes and cards to each other. Do you remember doing that with your wife? And as a Christian courting couple, every once in a while, she would throw a Scripture verse reference. I guess she knew I needed all the Scripture I could get. (I think she was trying to keep my mind as pure as possible.) Anyway, I would read her note and then run to get my Bible to look up the Bible passage. It never failed to encourage me and bring a joyful smile to my face. Until…
One day Stephanie sent me an encouragement card and at the bottom, she wrote: 2Peter 2:14. She meant to write down 1Peter 5:14, which reads: “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” Instead imagine my surprise when I read 2Peter 2:14, which reads: “They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.” I didn’t know how to take that verse. What was my future bride trying to tell me? Did she see me as a predator? It’s even worse in The Message: “These people are nothing but brute beasts, born in the wild, predators on the prowl. In the very act of bringing down others with their ignorant blasphemies, they themselves will be brought down, losers in the end. Their evil will boomerang on them. They're so despicable and addicted to pleasure that they indulge in wild parties, carousing in broad daylight. They're obsessed with adultery, compulsive in sin, seducing every vulnerable soul they come upon. Their specialty is greed, and they're experts at it. Dead souls!”
I later asked what she meant by that verse. Stephanie turned various shades of red when I read the passage to her. So the lesson here is to check and recheck the Scripture verse you send out to others. This has become an inside joke between my wife and me.
Blessings!
One day Stephanie sent me an encouragement card and at the bottom, she wrote: 2Peter 2:14. She meant to write down 1Peter 5:14, which reads: “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” Instead imagine my surprise when I read 2Peter 2:14, which reads: “They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.” I didn’t know how to take that verse. What was my future bride trying to tell me? Did she see me as a predator? It’s even worse in The Message: “These people are nothing but brute beasts, born in the wild, predators on the prowl. In the very act of bringing down others with their ignorant blasphemies, they themselves will be brought down, losers in the end. Their evil will boomerang on them. They're so despicable and addicted to pleasure that they indulge in wild parties, carousing in broad daylight. They're obsessed with adultery, compulsive in sin, seducing every vulnerable soul they come upon. Their specialty is greed, and they're experts at it. Dead souls!”
I later asked what she meant by that verse. Stephanie turned various shades of red when I read the passage to her. So the lesson here is to check and recheck the Scripture verse you send out to others. This has become an inside joke between my wife and me.
Blessings!
1 comment:
Ouch! Now that's tough love.
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