Copycat

In each issue of Engage, a section called Toolbox gives readers tips, tools and advice for wrestling with the Bible. In issue 18, we ask: who should we copy?

Follow the leader?

When learning to drive, it’s natural to watch other drivers and copy them. But many experienced drivers don’t drive as you’re meant to in the driving test. There are some habits you should copy and some you shouldn’t.

Sometimes we should follow the example of people in the Bible. But not always! For example...

• In Daniel 6, an order is given that prayers may not be offered to anyone but the king of Babylon. Daniel ignores the king’s law and continues to pray to the true God. This means we should copy Daniel and obey God rather than men.
• In 1 Samuel 3, young Samuel hears his name called during the night. Eli tells Samuel it’s God speaking to him which leads to God giving Samuel a prophecy. This means we should expect God to speak to us audibly and tell us what will happen in the future.
• In 2 Samuel 11, King David commits adultery with Bathsheba. This means we too can commit adultery.

What do you think of each of these? I’m guessing you’d probably accept the first one. You might be sceptical about the second one, depending on what you’ve been taught about how God speaks to us today. Hopefully, we’d all disagree with the third! Yet all three have used the Bible in the same way. We must be careful what we copy. Not everything done by a Bible character is good. And even good things they do may not apply to all Christians at all times.

Description vs prescription

There’s a danger in mistaking something the Bible describes for something it prescribes. The Bible describes what happened to Samuel — God speaking to him in an audible voice. But just because something happened in a particular way to a particular person, it doesn’t mean it will happen like that for all of us.

Having said that, we must also be clear that the copycat approach isn’t always wrong. Sometimes the Bible does hold up people as examples for us to imitate (or avoid):

“Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” (James 5 v 10)

“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” (1 Corinthians 10 v 6)

Who to copy?

How can we know whether or not we should copy something in the Bible? Well, we can ask if it fits with or contradicts what is said elsewhere in the Bible. We wouldn’t conclude that adultery is acceptable from David’s example, because other parts of Scripture clearly teach otherwise.

Another question to ask is: “Does the author intend this description to be copied by the readers?” In Judges 6, God instructs Gideon to fight against His enemies, promising victory. Gideon is doubtful and so asks God to do a couple of specific things to confirm that He wants Gideon to fight (see Judges 6 v 36–40). Some Christians take this as an example for us to follow. Whenever we need guidance from God, ask Him to make a particular thing happen to indicate what course of action we should take.

The problem with this is that the issue with Gideon wasn’t guidance but assurance. He was scared and wanted encouragement from God that He’d give Gideon the victory. So it’s unlikely that Gideon’s actions are given to us as an example to follow — and the author gives us no indication that they are. What it does show us is that God is very patient with those who have weak faith!

So, when wondering whether or not to copy someone in the Bible, think:

1. Does this action fit with the rest of what the Bible teaches?
2. Does the author intend us to follow this example?

Ideas taken from Dig Deeper by Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach. Published by IVP.

Article taken from Engage issue 18. Out now.