SPEED BUMPS

I hate speed bumps!

You are cruising along, minding your own business, just under the speed of sound and bang—you hit a speed bump. Speed bumps are for kids, not for me—I’m a grown-up, for pity’s sake. I know what is considered a safe speed! (Here in the desolate reaches of North Dallas, some of the country folk in government in these communities actually have put out street signs saying, “Watch out for Speed Humps.” Go figure! Do these folk actually know what the word means? I’m not going to be the one to ‘esplain’ it to them…if you know what I mean.

I hate speed bumps in the street and parking lots and I used to dislike them in Scripture. I will be cruising along in my daily reading and bang, there will be a verse or a phrase that just catches me off guard. For a moment or several, I am bewildered and left with the nagging, intellectually challenging question, “What?” And then I catch my breath, my fragile sanity returns and I realize that my question should have been, “What did I just read?” I am then forced to back up, something I do not like to do in the car (because I tend to run into things when I go backwards) and besides, going backwards is not very spiritual. So full speed ahead!

Now that I have had some fun with the concept of “speed bumps,” let’s try to understand why some verses are just going to reach out and “rattle your wheels.”

I think there are at least three reasons why this happens. The first is, sometimes a verse has been brought into English in an awkward translation of the original. Somewhat like some of my sentences that leave you scratching your head and wondering, whatever could that mean? When this happens, it’s helpful to look at alternate translations. The second reason is that there is a cultural gap between when the passage was written and where we are today. This makes it difficult for us to grasp the import of what is said in the verse, and commentaries can be helpful here. The third reason is that the Holy Spirit is trying to teach you something out of that verse. It’s actually not a speed bump, it’s more like the teacher is slapping you on the back of the head and saying, “Pay attention.”

Mark 9:49 is one such verse that makes me go…“What?”

“For every one shall be salted with fire.”

I think one of the reasons I react to a verse like this is that it forces me to stop, to think and to investigate. And then I yell, “What?”

There are a variety of ways to deal with a verse like this, the meaning of which on the surface, at least to me, is elusive. One way is just to ignore it and pretend that it must have a deep, deep meaning, reserved just for the very spiritual, and being a shallow, shallow person, this argument lets me off the hook! Not very likely!

In trying to understand a Scripture like Mark 9:49, it is very important to look at the context of the verse. Is it part of a narrative or a dialog that extends over several verses before and after the “speed bump”? If it is a part of a narrative, what is the focus of what is being said? Don’t make the mistake of lifting the verse out of its context and trying to assign a meaning that may or may not be valid separate from the context.

It is also helpful to look at the meaning of the key words in the verse. You can use an online help like the Blue Letter Bible or the Bible Browser to check the meaning of the original words. I have listed below links that will take you to these Web sites. Also, you can go to different versions of the Scripture and see the translations. One of the Bibles I have in my library is The Word, and it draws from 26 translations and gives you the best eight or ten for each verse. This is a great resource (thanks, Mike Reed).

Commentaries are often very helpful in throwing light on difficult Scriptures. One thing I have learned about commentaries, however, is that if the passage is difficult for you to understand, it is often difficult for them, too, and sometimes their results are disappointing.

Now back to Mark 9:49.

I am not going to give you my understanding of this verse right now. I want you to read it, in context, and send me a comment with your understanding of what the verse means. I promise to publish all the comments that I receive on this verse. If I don’t publish yours, it’s because I don’t like you…just kidding! You can send a comment by clicking on the envelope, at the bottom of the article and sending me an e-mail. You can check to see when your comment is published by going back to the blog site and clicking on “Comments” at the bottom. Your comment won't go up immediately as it has to go before my committee for approval (just kidding).

Tell me what you think…let’s talk! In a week or so I will tell you what I think this verse is saying.

Here are the links:

Blue Letter Bible http://www.blueletterbible.org/
Bible Browser http://www.biblebrowser.com/