If you happen to walk into a religious bookstore (or Hobby Lobby), among the other religious themed items like t-shirts, hats, figurines, and jewelry, you will likely find an assortment of coffee mugs with Bible verses written on them.  It’s not my intention to condemn the practice – a nice reminder of God’s word can be helpful any time, even as we enjoy our morning tea or coffee.   What’s interesting is the verses that are chosen and how they are…creatively paraphrased.  There are mugs with verses like Psalm 28:7 “The Lord’s My Strength”, Proverbs 3:5  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.”,  Psalm 46:10 “Be still & know that I am God.”  Matthew 5:16  “Be A Bright (picture of a lightbulb) For All To See”.  I’m sure you noticed, but none of those verses as they are displayed on the cups have any context.  Many of them are very loosely paraphrased, and some of them barely resemble the divinely inspired words in scripture they are intended to represent. 

     As I stated earlier, my issue is not with the religious coffee cup industry.  We can talk later about the importance of scriptural accuracy as it pertains to ceramic ware another time.  This is, however, a symptom of something that is far more dangerous – a casual treatment and understanding of scripture overall.  You see, the reason most people

don’t bat an eye when they see a Bible verse mistranslated on a mug is that they didn’t really know the verse to begin with.  They are not really concerned with accuracy or context.  They are not at all worried about the accuracy of the translation or the originally intended meaning of the verse.  It's a catchy quip.  Maybe the mug is communicating something a little less profound.  Perhaps it is a message to others that they are religious.

     Here's the problem:  This is the same casual attitude towards all scripture that many people today exhibit who consider themselves religious. 

     We see this everywhere if we look.  We see it in the false teaching of a prosperity gospel televangelist – Psalm 112:-1-9 - "…the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever".  How many times has that verse and others been used to try to prove that God just wants all of His people to be happy and rich?  If you don’t take the time to examine context, and reconcile the message with other passages of scripture, you can almost make the Bible say whatever you want.  

     We see the same thing in false doctrines that are propped up by verses here and there, taken out of 

context and misapplied.  Verses like Romans 3:28 are used to prove the faith only doctrine. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”  Noone seems to follow up with the question, “what law is being talked about in Romans 3 (the law of Moses).  What was Paul’s actually point in that passage? “…both Jews and Greeks are all under sin” (3:9), grace is a gift that cannot be earned, but redemption is found in Christ Jesus (3:24).  So many forget that the phrase “faith alone” is found in one passage of scripture, and the message of the passage is that faith without works is dead. 

     One of the most common verses that gets the “Coffee Cup” treatment is Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”.  If you read the context of that verse, who is he talking to and about?  Is this a message intended for you and me?  Only in a very loose, indirect way.  He is talking to and about the nation of God’s people who are about to suffer greatly and be exiled.  God’s message to them is that this is not the end.  There will be a remnant preserved and His people will return.  Of course, we can learn from this message.  We learn about the nature of God, how He keeps His promises, His justice and His mercy, but to ignore the context and original meaning of the verse is to twist it. 

     The Bible is not meant to be read one verse at a time, out of context, and without consideration of its intended audience and meaning.  Read the scriptures as a whole, in context, and with a desire to understand what God intended, not to fit a narrative and not for religious soundbites.  When we pluck God’s words out of context, stick them on the side of a cup, then pretend they apply to everyone without consideration, we are altering His message.  We should take care not to distort the message.  2 Peter 3:16 – “as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”

     I have a confession to make – As I write this, I sip from an off-brand insulated tumbler emblazoned with the words “All Grit No Quit, Jos. 1:9.  It’s not a quote.  It’s not even a paraphrase of Joshua 1:9. It is a nice little reminder of where my confidence should lie and what my goal for today should be.  Keep your mugs, just be careful to love and know the word.