Adding To God’s Words
The Pinakothek der Moderne is a world famous art museum in Munich, Germany. They recently reported a crime, but it was the opposite of a heist. Someone snuck their own artwork into the museum and put it on display alongside the prized paintings of Pablo Picasso and other modern masterpieces.
It was an inside job by an employee. He was promptly fired and turned in to the police. It was a crime, and the man is being charged.
Why such a big deal? He didn’t take anything!
Because adding to what is genuine is just as detrimental as taking away what is valuable. It undermines and devalues the authentic. That’s actually the definition of corruption. Precious metals are corrupt due to contaminations. They are purified by taking out the foreign material.
It’s also why adding to God’s Word is such a serious matter. We can do that in a lot of different ways. There are some common misconceptions that people have, such as “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” or, “God helps people who help themselves.”
But I think the real damage is done in our minds when we mix truths of God’s Word with philosophies of the world. People are damaged by believing they are supposed to “love themselves,” which is something that God’s Word does not teach. In fact, it teaches the opposite. They are hurt by false teachers who claim that God will make them wealthy and healthy in this life, if they have enough faith to send that teacher money. That’s adding to God’s Word, hurtful to people’s well-being, and corrupting Christianity’s reputation.
But we all need to be careful about adding to God’s Word in our own minds. We tend to let our culture or the values of movies and sitcoms shape what we endorse or reject. It’s what’s happening with prominent professing Christians when they approve of gay marriage or abortion rights. That’s letting the world’s values shape our thinking, rather than God’s Word. And it’s adding to His truth with counterfeit values…corrupt thinking.
Do you ever say or think, “Well, I believe God is ok with ________?” What is it that you promote or endorse that has its source in popular thinking, rather than in what God’s Word actually teaches?
I would never attempt to display my own artwork in a museum next to a masterpiece. But I too often put my own opinions on par with the words of Jesus…and that’s a lot more serious.
“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:8 NLT).