Titus Benton
Titus lives in the suburbs of St. Louis with his pretty wife Kari, adorable daughter Nora, and handsome son Malachi. He has worked in Student Ministry for 9 years in part- or full-time roles. He contributes to http://www.teensundayschool.com. When not cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals, he enjoyes listening to country music, eating greasy food, and reading John Grisham novels.
Jesus Was Smart
- By Titus Benton
- Published 05/26/2008
I've been thinking a lot lately about how stinking smart Jesus was. He said a lot of very smart things. In fact, a cursory look at some of our most wisdom-filled contemporary quotes reveals that Jesus/God/Holy Spirit originated a lot of them. Consider this sampling:
1. Turn the other cheek...Luke 6:29
2. Go the extra mile...Matthew 5:41
3. He'll give you the shirt off his back...Luke 6:29
4. Do unto others...Luke 6:30
5. Laughter is the best medicine...Proverbs 17:22
6. Don't go to bed angry...Ephesians 4:26
7. Judge not, lest you be judged...Matthew 7:1
8. The apple of my eye...Deuteronomy 2:10
9. At my wit's end...Psalm 107:27
10. Can a leopard change his spots...Jeremiah 13:23
11. the idea of a "Good Samaritan"...Luke 10
12. The handwriting was on the wall...Daniel 5:5
13. a Labor of Love...1 Thessalonians 1:3
14. My brother's keeper...Genesis 4:9
15. Being on the "straight and narrow"...Matthew 7:14
16. The sweat of our brow...Genesis 3:19
17. The blind leading the blind...Matthew 15:14
18. Thorn in the flesh...2 Corinthians 12:7
19. By the skin of our teeth...Job 19:20
20. You reap what you sow...Galatians 6:7
I need to admit 3 things:
1. Some of these sayings aren't all that popular today, but I'm not that old and I've heard them all.
2. I ran out of steam at about 10-11 and googled some of the others.
3. If I tried a lot harder, I could come up with twice as many.
The bottom line is this...the Bible is filled with truth that is just as true today as it was the day it was penned, and at no point in history has it ceased to be true. What if we introduced the Bible to people as a book with wisdom that works instead of a Holy Hammer to smack them around with? Would it do any good?
Maybe not. But I'm tired of people thinking that the Bible is nonsense. The next time they say they're at their wit's end, I'm going to tell them why.
1. Turn the other cheek...Luke 6:29
2. Go the extra mile...Matthew 5:41
3. He'll give you the shirt off his back...Luke 6:29
4. Do unto others...Luke 6:30
5. Laughter is the best medicine...Proverbs 17:22
6. Don't go to bed angry...Ephesians 4:26
7. Judge not, lest you be judged...Matthew 7:1
8. The apple of my eye...Deuteronomy 2:10
9. At my wit's end...Psalm 107:27
10. Can a leopard change his spots...Jeremiah 13:23
11. the idea of a "Good Samaritan"...Luke 10
12. The handwriting was on the wall...Daniel 5:5
13. a Labor of Love...1 Thessalonians 1:3
14. My brother's keeper...Genesis 4:9
15. Being on the "straight and narrow"...Matthew 7:14
16. The sweat of our brow...Genesis 3:19
17. The blind leading the blind...Matthew 15:14
18. Thorn in the flesh...2 Corinthians 12:7
19. By the skin of our teeth...Job 19:20
20. You reap what you sow...Galatians 6:7
I need to admit 3 things:
1. Some of these sayings aren't all that popular today, but I'm not that old and I've heard them all.
2. I ran out of steam at about 10-11 and googled some of the others.
3. If I tried a lot harder, I could come up with twice as many.
The bottom line is this...the Bible is filled with truth that is just as true today as it was the day it was penned, and at no point in history has it ceased to be true. What if we introduced the Bible to people as a book with wisdom that works instead of a Holy Hammer to smack them around with? Would it do any good?
Maybe not. But I'm tired of people thinking that the Bible is nonsense. The next time they say they're at their wit's end, I'm going to tell them why.
Spread The Word
Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by Corey Roskamp)
I think this is a really interesting thought. I would love to see a study or a book that contained a lot of popular phrases that originate in biblical teaching. Interesting. Thanks
