Putting words into God’s mouth that do not belong there.

Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying.  Ezekiel 13:2

Those who prophesy out of their own imagination.

Those who follow their own spirit.

Those who have actually seen nothing.

Those who have not prepared God’s people for what is coming.

Those who have put words into God’s mouth. Who have said ‘The Lord declares’ and then expected God to fulfil their words.

Those who lead God’s people astray.

Those who say declare peace when there is no peace. Who pretend everything is OK when it is not.

Those who build a flimsy wall of protection and cover it in whitewash. Who surround themselves with a defence that cannot actually withstand real attack.

Those who rely on magic charms on bracelets and special veils to make a difference. Who believe that mere things can be infused with special power and protect them from harm.

Those who have lied to the people who listen to lies.

Those who have misjudged everything and allowed the people doing wrong to carry on and stopped those who are doing right.

Those who have disheartened the righteous with their lies.

God’s hand will be against prophets such as these.

They will all be destroyed.

God will pour out His wrath.

Their defences will collapse.

Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.  Ezekiel 13:9

I feel so strongly about all of this. This isn’t just a thing of the past. People are still speaking for God today – and getting it wrong. Putting words into God’s mouth that do not belong there. Some deliberately, some mistakenly.

Some people deliberately leading people astray. Down a certain path that feeds that particular individual’s need for power, recognition, wealth, position, recognition…whatever. Encouraging people to behave in a certain way that serves their own agenda.

Take Imperialism for example. Taking ‘God’ and ‘civilisation’ to peoples all over the world who did not need God and civilisation presented to them in that way. That way that led to exploitation of land and people and slavery and terrible suffering. Watch ‘The Mission’ again as I did the other night if you need reminding of all the damage that has been done over the centuries in the name of God.

And remember that inscribed on the helmets of the German soldiers in the First World War and the belt buckles of the German Wehrmacht soldiers in the Second World War was this phrase. Gott mit uns. God with us.

All these wars throughout the years that have have been based on religion. On what people believe God wants and stands for and stands against. All these atrocities to defend a faith, to defend a God.

And where is God actually in all of this? Picking up the pieces. Caring for the wounded. Comforting the children. Rebuilding homes. Bringing love and light and hope to forgotten corners of despair and darkness.

Bringing this back down to the realities of our day to day lives, we are bombarded every single day with individuals telling us the best way to live our lives. On TV, in books, mainly these days on social media and the internet. How can we possibly know who to listen to? All these people claiming to know the best way. To have the answer. The secret to happiness and long life. And there are plenty of Christian teachers out there too. Christian teachers who speak for God. Who have gained so much respect and credibility that people believe everything that they say without question.

And this can happen in our churches too. Certain people become the people we look up to, the people we listen to, the people we’re guided by. Which can lead to these people enjoying their place on the pedestal, becoming too over-confident in their opinions, using the power they have to make things the way they want them to be. This is often all done in good faith, I think. They really believe they are speaking on God’s behalf. They really believe that what they feel strongly about is what God feels strongly about. But go back to that list at the top. Don’t you recognise any of this from your Christian experience over the years?

I do. And as a writer and someone who people have listened to at times, I have probably fallen into that trap too. I’m sure I have. I’ve got it wrong. It’s so easy to put words into God’s mouth. I’ve done it in this piece.

And where is God actually in all of this? Picking up the pieces. Caring for the wounded. Comforting the children. Rebuilding homes. Bringing love and light and hope to forgotten corners of despair and darkness.

I spoke definitively there because I believe this to be true, but am I speaking wrongly on God’s behalf here? I don’t know.

So where do we go with all of this? Do we never speak out in case we are going to get it wrong? Do we never listen to anyone in case they are getting it wrong? In that case, nothing would ever be said. Nothing would ever get done.

So I leave you with a few guidelines that generally work for me.

1. Don’t ever take on board what someone has said just because of who they are. You may have agreed with everything they have said in the past, but that doesn’t mean that everything they ever say will be right. Be discerning. Be open to the idea that this time, this may not have come from God at all. Remember that everyone is human even your favourite teacher or writer or leader.
2. Gauge what you are hearing about what you know about God. God is a God of love and justice. Anything less than that is not of Him.
3. Remember often it’s not what someone is saying, it’s how they are saying it and how they’re living it out that makes it authentic.
4. I am always suspicious when the best way to live involves me signing up to something or paying out money or buying a product.
5. Faith is evolving. The church is evolving. Our personal relationships with God are evolving. Therefore all the issues that are issues currently may not be an issue in ten years time. And then how many people have been hurt or damaged spiritually along the way?
6. Don’t ever just say what you think people want to hear. Like ‘Everything’s going to be OK’.
7. Don’t stay quiet to keep the peace though. That’s not right, either. If there is something clearly wrong, an obvious injustice, then we have a responsibility to point it out. Preferably in God’s time and in a loving way.
8. Don’t put words into God’s mouth. Ever. Never presume to speak for God. We are human. We can never know or understand the mind of God. If we are called to teach or write or guide, then we have to remain humble at all times and aware of our humanity and our ability to get it spectacularly wrong.
9. Learn to be wise. And humble. That’s the long and short of it, I think.