God and grammar

Today: Matthew 22-23

I know some people will loathe this post, but I have to say it anyway--God's into grammar.

(I can already see rolling eyes...and perhaps a few cheers from high school English teachers or fellow writers.)

How do I know for sure? And more importantly, why does it even matter? I'll explain (of course!).

In one section of the text, Jesus had a discussion with some Saducees (religious leaders who didn't believe in the concept of resurrection). I'm not really going to get into the whole debate (you can read it if you want), but I will share this interesting tidbit:

And regarding your speculation

on whether the dead are raised or not,

don't you read your Bibles?

The grammar is clear:

God says, 'I am—not was—

the God of Abraham,

the God of Isaac,

the God of Jacob.'

The living God

defines himself

not as the God of dead men,

but of the living."

See what I mean?

There's a big difference between "was" and "am" or "will be." "Am" indicates the present tense--and by defining Himself as "I am," God is a "living God" to all generations--He was "I am" to the generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--but He was also "I am" to the generations of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. He's "I am" to my generation and He will be "I am" to my great-grandchildren.

Another interesting thing about this passage is the fact that while Jesus answers the leaders' question about the possibility of eternal life for humans--by describing the living, eternal nature of God, He gives them more than they asked for.

However, I may disappoint a few high school teachers and writers when I say that although God's into grammar, He's much more into lives than words. Jesus explains using yet another grammar analogy in this passage:

You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees!

Frauds!

You keep meticulous account books,

tithing on every nickel and dime you get,

but on the meat of God's Law,

things like fairness and compassion and commitment

—the absolute basics!—

you carelessly take it or leave it.

Careful bookkeeping is commendable,

but the basics are required.

Do you have any idea how silly you look,

writing a life story

that's wrong from start to finish,

nitpicking over commas and semicolons?

As a writer and editor, this passage makes so much sense to me. I've read many pieces where writers try too hard--they use complex words with more than four syllables, trying so sound impressive or highly intelligent. But at the end of the day, if a reader cannot understand what the heck you're saying, who cares how fancy it sounds?

As Jesus illustrated, lots of religious people try to live their lives like that--putting on fancy shows of their generosity or using complex Christian words--when they forget the basics. But your life is the story--not the semi-colons.