Read Part I & Part II of this series)
Copyright 2018 Theresa Harvard Johnson
If spiritual immaturity can produce a lying pen… then how should we consider that pen or judge it? Do we treat it like the pen of the false prophet or do we treat it as an opportunity to bring the person into understanding?
My vote: Let it be a learning opportunity.
There are many books, songs, movies, plays, skits, poems, and other projects that “lie”…. but they are coming from a spiritually immature place. Have you every listened to a song about God but it COMPLETELY misquoted the scripture? Have you read a blog and seen passages of scripture “innocently” taken out of context? Have you listened to a “prophetic” poem that had scriptural contexts mixed up….? Yet, you could DISCERN that the intent was in the right place.
Of course you have. I’ll also stand in line and admit that I wrote a lot of things in my early Christian days that completely embarrass me now. The bottom line is this: “Growing writers…. even those who are prophetic…. write from where they are.” Yes, prophetic streams should be pure… but sometimes the mind of the person interrupts that flow and interjects themselves “unknowingly” into it.
As prophetic scribes, we must continue to create environments in which prophetic scribes can share… and, when necessary, receive correction, guidance and insight into their presentation from those who have wisdom. Spiritually immature people lack wisdom, experience and the ability to process the things of God from its proper place. The “discipleship process” is in motion.
Many times, in the Christian entainment arena, we have quite a bit of spiritual immaturity at play. In the areas where we have influence, we can be catalysts to help others grow.
(Read Part IV: The Lying Pen of the Scribe)
