Tools of the Spirit

   I had a teacher in high school who would ask us, when we had forgotten our books (and our homework,) "What use is a workman without his tools?"


   The greatest tools of the Spirit that we possess are the Holy Scriptures.  In his second letter to Timothy, which we have been reading this week, Paul urged his protégé, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the world of truth." 2 Timothy Ch. 2, vs. 15. 
  How do we handle this great tool of the Sprit, the Holy Scriptures?  The question has several aspects.


   First, do we leave them on a shelf,  or do we take them out, and get the feel and heft of them?  Yes, this means holding them in our hands.  As the old gospel hymn puts it, quaintly but truly, '"Where there's dust on the bible, there's trouble in the home"  And in our house it doesn't take long for things to get dusty!


   Second, when we open them, do we use them?  A power tool, for example, is of no use unless it is plugged in, and the Scriptures are our direct conduit to the Holy Spirit.  As Jesus said to his disciples, "When you no longer see me, the Comforter will bring to mind all that I have said to you."


   Third, this tool of the Sprit requires an open minded and alert operator.  Have you ever hit your thumb with a hammer, or slipped with a pair of scissors and cut something you didn't intend?  Think about it!


   Fourth, do you use the Scriptures intentionally, with forethought?  Who hasn't been comforted by a phrase from the Bible that has leapt off the page in a crisis moment, such as words from the twenty-third Psalm?  But as we know, tools wielded haphazardly are only going to do half the job, or else make it take twice as long.


   Lastly, do you employ the Scriptures for the ends for which they are intended?  A hammer used to drive a screw, or any other misused tool will not only tend to make a mess, it can be dangerous.  The Scriptures used indiscriminately,  like taking a verse out of context--did you know the Bible says "there is no God"? Check out Psalm 14, verse 1, and see for yourself !--or wielded without charity, can do lasting harm, and leave scars that last a lifetime.  Employed with love and charity, however, and with understanding, as Jesus did, builds the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is us, into God's Church.  (See Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, Ch. 2, vs. 22 on this one.)


   How do you handle the tools of the Spirit?