Biblical Exegesis and Missing the Forest for the Trees

Not every question we raise here really matters.  What matters is keeping our emphasis on the right things.   This blog acknowledges that many of the question we raise here fall into the category of fun things to think about but the resolution not really mattering in the grand scheme of things.  It also defends such pursuits.

We often struggle with the notion that everything is not knowable.  For example, the Bible does not seem to answer question such as whether our souls were created when we were born or whether our souls existed before we were born and entered our physical body at birth.  There are many issues like this, many of which have been set out in this blog, and which no doubt will be set out here also.

Is it worthwhile to spend time on these issues or is this the equivalent of Jesus telling the Pharisees that “you tithe mint, dill and cumin, but neglect the weightier matters of the law – justice, mercy, and faith?” (Matthew 23:23) In other words, are these issues, as fun as they are to discuss, distracting us from the real point of Jesus’ message?   We run the risk of spending time where we shouldn’t.  Most of these issues are what many call not “salvation issues” – they fall into the category of issues which may be fun to debate, but do not really matter.

The other point of view is that that we are going to spend our leisure time some way, and it is better to fill up that time with these spiritual issues than with secular pursuits.  It is better to be debating Biblical issues than reading news, watching sports, or playing golf, for example.   At least one is engaged in Bible study.

The reality of this focus is quite different.   If we are not allowing consideration of these issues to trade off with secular time OR if we are allowing them to gain too much emphasis in our lives at the expense of things like justice, mercy, love, prayer, and devotion, then we are off track.   Jesus was not really objecting to tithing.  Jesus clearly knew that following the law was important.    Jesus was objecting to the fact that the Pharisees were tithing at the expense of the “weightier issues of the law” like justice, mercy, and faith.

It is important to keep our perspective on questions.  The line between “what does not matter” and “what does” is very much thinner that we think.    While we are keeping our minds occupied on these questions, let us not forget that the heart and our devotion to justice, mercy, and faith has to be what motivates us.