Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Lost in Translation



This picture is from "the Revenge of the Sith" Star Wars movie. The closed captioning was a direct English translation of the Chinese interpretation of what the script was saying. This translation seemed completely random until you realize that 'Jedi council' is being translated into Chinese then back to English as 'the Presbyterian church'. Something is definitely lost in translation!

Many times we have the same problem. We approach doing God's will interpreted by what we want God's will to be for us, and then low and behold, it is God's will! I know that the Bible says we should feed the hungry, but I think that my money is best spent on me, besides I'm hungry too! God wants to feed the hungry, so I'll go to McDonald's.

God's Word tells us to help the weak. I'm weak, so I will join a fitness club, then I won't be weak. It's God's will after all! You get it, we read the word and interpret it the way we want it to be and then translate it into the wrong actions.

Just as the Jedi Council was and never will be the Presbyterian Church, our actions can and never will be justified by misreading or misinterpreting God's Word. Instead of trying to get God's Word to fit into our lifestyle, isn't it about time we fit into God's lifestyle for us?

1 comment:

Rosella said...

You are sounding very Calvin like here!!!!!