Biblical Application – Chemistry not Physics

13- 14 January 2010 – Genesis 39 – 42

Learning how to apply the Bible to our lives today is an important skill.  One common mistake is assuming generalised principles are always true.  Let me give an example from Genesis 39-42.

Here we read the story of Joseph in Egypt, of his betrayal by Potiphar’s wife, his imprisonment, and his rise to be Pharoah’s right hand man.  There are a couple of key components that readily come through in the reading.  Firstly, Joseph was a man of integrity who maintained a righteous life in communion with God.  Secondly, “the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.” (Genesis 39:54 NET).

We readily take those two components and apply them to our lives today using the following if/then logic statement.  ”If I maintain a life of integrity in communion with God, then God will bless me and make me successful.”

But is this an appropriate way to interpret and apply the Bible?  Well … yes and no.  It’s like the difference between the laws of physics and the laws of chemistry.  In high school I always loved physics, because the laws of physics applied every time.  Gravity always operates (on earth) in the same way.  The law applies every time.  Chemistry on the other hand was my bugbear subject.  It seemed that every single law of chemistry always had exceptions.  You couldn’t just learn the law.  You had to learn that in these circumstances there was an exception, or that these particular elements were exceptions to the law and didn’t react in the expected fashion.

This is the problem when we apply the Joseph story. We take the principle “God blesses the righteous” and assume that it is like a physics law, rather than a chemistry law.  In other words, we take the generalised principle and apply it to every situation.  This creates an obvious problem.  What if I’m not successful?  Is it my fault, for not being righteous enough?  Suddenly my success (however that might be measured) becomes a measure of my righteousness, creating pride or arrogance and envy of those who are successful.

This principle however, ought to be applied like a chemistry law – with exceptions!  For instance, God blessed Joseph in Potiphar’s house, but Joseph still ended up in prison.  There is no doubt that if we seek to live upright lives before God we will be blessed – but the blessings we receive will not necessarily save us from also dealing with heartache, with pain, with struggle and with injustice.

Like the proverbs, this wisdom is generalised.  That’s why you can have two proverbs that say exactly the opposite of each other, yet both are true (see Proverbs 26:4-5).

On the other hand, some parts of Scripture provide clear “commands” which apply in all circumstances.  So when Jesus says that the greatest commandment is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:45 NET) – this is not a generalised principle to be followed on occasion.  This is an instruction for how we are to live.

We must be careful when applying Biblical concepts to recognise when they are generalised principles and when they are not and to remember that the general principles will have exceptions.

So let’s embrace the chemistry of the Bible together!

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