God's Word: Handle With Care

The Quran is the “holy book” of the religion of Islam. Muslims consider it to be the revealed word of God. Obviously I disagree, but that’s not my point here. Consider two recent stories involving the Quran, both of which made national headlines.

Story # 1: At Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, guards were accused of desecrating copies of the Quran in front of Muslim prisoners by stepping on them and dropping them into toilets. Officials have insisted that any improper treatment of the Quran at Guantanamo was the result of carelessness, not malice. They have stressed that guards at the base are carefully instructed in handling the Quran so as not to offend Muslim prisoners.

Story # 2: Muslims in Blacksburg, Virginia were outraged when some burned Qurans were left at the door of a local mosque. Several groups publicly denounced the action as a hate crime. However, the situation cooled off when a local Muslim student contacted police and said he was responsible. The books, he explained, had been damaged in a house fire, and he had hoped someone at the mosque could give them a “respectful disposal.” He left the books there with a note of explanation, which, unfortunately, blew away in the wind.

Both of these cases illustrate the deep reverence Muslims have for the Quran. Believing that its contents are the words of God, a devout Muslim treats the Quran as a sacred object that must be given the utmost care and respect.

I’ve heard some people remark that these cases might never have made the news if they had involved Bibles instead of Qurans. They may be right. And I’m afraid that’s largely due to the fact that many professed Christians have nowhere near the respect for the Bible that most Muslims have for the Quran.

I’m not suggesting that we should start treating our Bibles as sacred objects. I can’t find any Biblical teaching that requires us to handle a copy of Scripture in any certain fashion. But I do wonder if the casual, often careless way many of us treat our Bibles is evidence that we have little regard for their contents. When it comes to God’s message, He has always taught His people to show the greatest reverence and care.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:18-19).

“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48).

“For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God…” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).