The Right Rules

“You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”  Mark 8:33  

Not long ago, on the national news, I heard a broadcaster use bad grammar.  I wasn’t shocked but was slightly surprised.  I shouldn’t have been. Through the past few years, slippage in speech has increased in daily conversations, media interviews, and public communications.  The errors are propagated because speakers think they are correct, and listeners, not knowing the truth, begin to say the same, and on and on it goes until misuse becomes common and moves from the neighborhood to the network.

The newscaster made a comment that included the phrase “to you and I.”  Those words are heard often, but repetition doesn’t make them right. The correct phrase is “to you and me.”  (It’s also correct to say “between you and me” and “for you and me.”)  The detailed explanation involves the use of objective pronouns, but a short way to make sure you’re saying the right thing is to get the part you’re questioning alone.  For example, if you’re trying to determine whether to say, “She’s talking about Bob and I,” or “She’s talking about Bob and me,” drop Bob and ask yourself if you would say, “She’s talking about I,” or “She’s talking about me.”  When you simplify the issue, the correct usage becomes obvious, and you can then confidently include it in more complicated conversation.

This bit of good advice applies not only to grammar but to God’s words as well.  Sometimes more is not merrier, and the abundance of opinions, declarations, and justifications from our ever-increasing immoral and amoral society serves only to confuse and confound us.  Publicly and privately we are being required to speak to a variety of issues facing our country and culture, and what we say often influences what others think—of us or of the issue.  When you’re not sure what’s right, get alone with God’s Word.  Somehow in the solitary, the correct answer is obvious, and you can then confidently include it in more complicated conversation.  Even if the listener thinks you’re wrong, you can be sure you’re right—because God always is.

The apostle Peter learned this lesson when he tried to correct Jesus.  After Peter courageously and correctly affirmed that Jesus was the Messiah, “You are the Christ,”(Mk 8:29), he took Jesus aside to straighten Him out when Jesus started teaching that He must suffer rejection and crucifixion.  Jesus’ words went against the commonly accepted dreams of a nation and desires of the disciples, and since everyone around Peter was saying one thing, he was sure Jesus was saying the wrong thing.  But He wasn’t.  “‘Get behind me, Satan!’ Jesus said. ‘You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men’”(Mk 8:33).  For so long, so many had been speaking incorrectly that when Someone came along who spoke correctly, they failed to recognize the truth.

The same happens here and now as we are barraged with talk that teaches both subtly and brashly that God is irrelevant, His Word unreliable, and His commands invalid. These errors are spread because speakers think they are correct, and listeners, not knowing the truth, begin to say the same, and on and on it goes until misuse becomes common and moves from the neighborhood to the network.  And beyond—into hearts, souls, lives, and laws.

When it comes to grammar, the only way to speak correctly is to know the all the rules and always apply all of them all the time (which I certainly don’t, by the way!), but much, much more importantly, the only way to live correctly is to know the rules of Godliness, to know the One who wrote the rules of Godliness, and, by His grace, to apply them to all of our lives all of the time.  

At the end of the day what we say (and how we say it) doesn’t really matter, but what God says always does—and always will.  No matter the situation, we can’t go wrong by saying His words because they are always right.