Keep it simple

   Church is great. Bible-based teaching in general is great. Spending an hour or two pouring over one verse can be very profitable. Discussing christian theology or controversial subjects with other believers can really give you something to chew on. But this post is about the harm that can be done in over-thinking something. Especially biblical topics.
   I'm going to start off by saying this: There are a LOT of controversial subjects in the bible. Am I right? And everyone who studies the bible has a certain interpretation of those passages that cause controversy. People tend to chose one side or another, based on how they read the bible.
   Some Christians really stress the context. The context of the verse, the context of the book, the time period, the ruler at that time, the other religions at that time, the place, the person who wrote it, etc.
   Others are all about other verses that apply. They read a verse in Matthew, and then take verses or phrases from all over the bible that seem to say the same thing. And then they use the other verses to prove that the verse in Matthew means what they say it means.
   There are some who claim that the bible is speaking figuratively (for various reasons) on passages that others claim should be taken literally.
   Now nothing is wrong with looking at the context, looking up other verses that apply, or taking certain verses figuratively. The problem is that people do it to the extreme. (I can give examples of this if someone wants them.) Anyone who says that the bible is easy to understand, has never read it.
   I know that I myself tend to over think a lot of things. I complicate things in my mind. And I was reminded by my camp counselor from 2 years ago, that it doesn't need to be complicated. There are things in the bible that are complicated, but biblical principles are simple, basic, and wonderful.
   If someone says that God is gracious, I don't need to wonder if it is literal or figurative, or think of verses to back it up, or say "What is the context? That might not apply anymore." It is beautiful in itself and holds so much truth.
   So this is my challenge to myself, and to whoever is reading this... Keep it simple. Don't over complicate things. It only confuses you.

~Melody