Apr 29 2022 Day 333 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3:13

We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word


Paul is writing to the community at Thessaloniki. He has been persecuted, as has the people he’s writing. But in the midst of that persecution, he’s able to encourage and find joy, and shares it with the community.

One of places he finds encouragement is that the community accepted the words he shared not as human words, but as God’s word. This makes me think about all of the communities now that are professing God’s word. Do we hear the words as God’s, or as the person who’s speaking them? What about when we don’t like the way someone speaks, or their accent, or their gender or their (fill in the blank)? Are we mistaking the person speaking for the words they speak? I’ll admit that there have been some whose personal quirks made me want to go somewhere else to hear God’s word. But if they were truly God’s word being spoken, should I care?

This is part of the thinking behind the community of Taizé, with their contemplative and sometimes haunting tunes. They’re sung in many languages, because God’s word transcends human words. I can absolutely hear God speaking through music in other languages, because it’s clear that it’s God’s word, not the word of mortals.

But one place where this troubles me is thinking about people or communities that take God’s word and preach it in ways that promote hate, or exclusion or division. In those instances, I think that it is the word of humans, not God’s word. But who am I to decide between truly God’s word and human’s? Is it still God’s word when it’s used to justify hate? Where does God’s word end, and human spin begin? And doesn’t that same transformation happen with everyone who speaks about God? At some point, speculation or even musings stop being God’s word and clearly are the word of mere mortals.

This would even be true with the authors of Scripture, right? What about Paul? Is every word out of his mouth the word of God or does he add his spin to it? How do we tall when it’s truly God’s word, rather than the uninformed but perhaps well-intentioned opinion of the author? What an unpleasant rabbit hole this is.

Perhaps it’s as simple as going back to Jesus’ simple commandments. Love God. Love your neighbor. That is clearly, uncompromisingly and simply the word of God. That needs to be my measuring stick against which I will determine if something is of God, or of humans. Love. That’s all. Anything else is suspect.