Using Bible Verses Out of Context

The Misuse of Luke 6:38

Someone Sms'd The Verse To Me

I am not speaking out against giving here. Rather, I am speaking out against the convenient misuse of scriptures by preachers just to make the scriptures say what they want.  It so happens that in this case, they misuse Luke 6:38 to preach about giving money.  But the passage is not speaking about giving money!! The entire passage speaks about giving love and mercy.  Love and mercy and not money!  Yet they conveniently misuse this verse simply because the phrase suit the purpose, even though the context doesn't.

Give more in expectation of receiving more?

This morning, I received an sms scripture from a dear brother in Christ.  It was Luke 6:38 which states: 

Luk 6:38  Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

Ooops! The Answer is Out of Context
I sms'd back and asked "What kind of giving do you think it is talking about?".  To which he replied ".... as we give with a clear conscience, we should do our giving without hoping for anything in return.  It could be moral support, cash, love or even materials, but for me it is the giving of tithes ....... ".

Now that is a very good Christian answer, but ooops, the answer is out of context with the passage.  I will explain later.  I have heard this verse being used to preach from the pulpit to exhort the congregation to give money and tithes to the church.  As I said, I am not against giving.  I am against the misuse and wrongful use of scriptures.  If a preacher wants to teach Christians to give, it is a good thing and it should be done; but the right verses should be used.  And the right passage to use in this case is 2Cor 9:6-7 which states: 

 2Co 9:6  But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  2Co 9:7  So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.  

The Actual Context of the Passage
How did my dear brother in Christ get the idea that Luke 6:38 is about giving of money?  He has surely heard preachers using it from behind the pulpit, that's how.  When I first heard this verse being preached as giving of money, it did not occur to me that anything is wrong.   I was new then.  A few years later, when I heard it again in the same way, there was some niggling discomfort as the idea of giving money is somewhat jarring against the whole passage.  While Jesus did speak in terms of not refusing to give to others when asked in verse 30 further up, to hear verse 38 being used for exhort contribution to the church somehow seems jarring to the whole passage.  It just does not jive.  

Furthermore, if it is about giving of money, would money  be given back to us to our bosom?  Money given to our bosom?  Does that sound right to you?

As I studied the passage over time, it suddenly dawned on me that I should consider the Luke 6:38 verse not in isolation ( that that is taking the verse out of its context ).  To know the proper context of that verse, we should start reading from Luke 6:36 until 6:38. 

Luk 6:36  Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.  Luk 6:37  Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:   Luk 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again

Then it becomes clear that in its entirety, the passage is talking about love, mercy and forgiveness.  Giving of money  to the needy ( verse 30) was mentioned as an illustration giving in love, and of not being calculative when what we gave out is not returned.    Therefore, when there is love, we are to judge with mercy, then we ourselves will receive mercy when we are judged.  We are not to condemn but we are to be forgiving of others. If you give love, mercy and forgiveness to others,  "it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom" by others!  

Love, mercy and forgiveness is given to your bosom – and that sounds just right.  Money to your bosom?  It just doesn’t sound right.



 
Why Luke 6:38 Is Popularly Misused
Luke 6:38 is being misused to entice greedy covetous giving from greedy and covetous Christians.  The fact is, Christians should be taught to give and share with the heart out of love and expect nothing in return.  We give because we love.  We love, because God is love and God loved us first.  We give, not to glorify ourselves, nor to gain merit; much less to expect even more in return.  We give that the Father's name may be glorified.  If we are to give with hopes of God giving us "ten times more" in return for what we gave, then we are being covetous and greedy.  Covetousness is a sin. The covetous has no share in the Kingdom of God.


The Wicked Motive Behind The Misuse
But preachers know that the sound of "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."  is very attractive and enticing to listeners who crave for more money.  They are actually using greed to tempt their sheep to pay more to the church.  Preachers even misuse Mar 4:8  "and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. " to tempt their members that they will receive that as many times returns for their giving.  But that is not the context of Mar 4:8 passage!   This kind of action is definitely wrong!  For God loves a cheerful giver, not a covetous giver.

No, I am not against teaching Christians to give cheerfully and generously.  But I am definitely against the misuse of scriptures.  I am against the preaches tempting listeners into giving in sinfulness.  There are those preachers who are sincerely wrong, not realizing that they are encouraging giving in covetousness.  But being sincerely wrong does not make the practice of preaching out of context right.  It is wrong, even though it is sincerely wrong.  Use 2Cor 9:6-7 instead.


Jesus says in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."