That Bible Verse You Don’t Like and What to Do About It

Out of the 31,102 verses in the Bible, it’s entirely possible that you don’t necessarily like every single one of them. That some of them might actually get under your skin.

There may be a particular verse that causes a reflexive bristling or even an eye-roll—if not outwardly, then in your heart. Something that annoys you or angers you. A phrase that scares you a bit, or causes you to question the goodness of God. A verse that you choose to ignore rather than confront.

What are some Bible verses that a reader, even a Christian reader, might not like? Here are some examples I came up with off the top of my head:

• “… women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.” —1 Corinthians 14:34
• “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!” —Psalm 137:9
• “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” —Luke 14:26
• “Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.” —1 Peter 2:18 (NIV)
• “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” —Revelation 20:15
• “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” —Hebrews 10:31

Tough verses, right? Especially when taken out of context. But even in context, these are verses that both scholars and everyday believers have wrestled with for centuries.

Bible-believing Christians have often used three specific words to describe the word of God: inspired (God-breathed), inerrant (without error), and infallible (cannot fail). Do you believe these things of the Bible, as well? If so, then that’s your foundation for overcoming your dislike of particular verses or ideas in God’s word. So let’s begin there.

If you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then that requires you to “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Here’s how  Oswald Chambers talks about faith in God’s revealed truth: “Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I’m going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word” (My Utmost for His Highest, Oct. 30). So, Christian, do you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God? Then you’re going to have to trust it—and trust God—that it is without error and that it cannot fail. Even for you, even in the 21st century, and even in individual life circumstances.

When I come across a Bible verse I might not immediately like, here are three reminders I give myself to keep things in proper perspective:

If you remember these three things every time you open your Bible, this can quickly become your usual frame of mind when reading any verse, including the difficult ones. Instead of thinking: something is wrong here or I don’t like this, you’ll consider questions like: why did God think this was a good idea? What might God have had in mind when he said this? Why did Jesus emphasize this seemingly odd point or use these off-putting words?

And here’s what you’re likely to discover when you approach the Bible with an attitude of humility and teachability: It may not be so much that you don’t like what the Bible is saying, but  rather that you don’t understand it. You don’t understand the context, the culture, the audience, the translation of the original language, the allusion or reference, the intention, or the overall meaning. That happens a lot, and it’s okay.

Here are two more pointers on working through difficult verses, taken from my own recent Bible studies with other women:

Don’t automatically assume the worst: Leviticus chapter 12 covers laws about purification after childbirth, and states that when a woman gives birth to a girl, she is ceremonially unclean for twice as long as she is when she gives birth to a boy. This is a good example of how you can get an entire roomful of Christian women feeling indignant and visibly bristly with just a few unfamiliar Old Testament verses. But instead of assuming that God is sexist or that he sees female babies as inferior or “dirtier” (as those who don’t know the Bible are wont to do), what if your mind immediately went to the three points listed above: it’s right there in the Bible; it’s here for a reason; and I do not know better than God. With those reminders as your first step, now you’re in a good position to dig for a deeper understanding of these verses. This is where a reliable study Bible or commentary, or a trusted pastor, teacher, or spiritual mentor come in handy (avoid using Google as your only source if at all possible). In particularly challenging books such as Leviticus, you’re going to need to understand the purpose of this book and what it means (and doesn’t mean) to be clean and unclean before you can think clearly about what the reason could be for this particular rule. And even Biblical scholars don’t agree on the exact reason for it, so it’s okay if you don’t know, either. In our group, we came up with several different possible reasons—none of which had to do with sexism.

That word might not mean what you think it means: In John 2:4, Mary tells Jesus that they’ve run out of wine at a wedding, and he says back to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me?”—which to our modern ears sounds a little abrupt, even rude or disrespectful. But it wasn’t harsh, and if you know the character of Jesus, you already know that. So when you come across this passage, you would say to yourself, I’m pretty sure Jesus isn’t being rude or harsh, especially to his own mother, so what is it that I don’t understand about this verse that I can learn more about? It turns out that “Woman” was something like “ma’am” at the time—a term of respect, even affection. And doesn’t that make more sense?

Both of these readings could have ended in frustration, group eye-rolling, or simply giving up in confusion. But they didn’t end that way, simply because we approached God’s word with humility and teachable hearts. When you say to yourself, “I don’t really like this, but there’s probably something about it that I don’t understand,” you’re well on your way to a greater appreciation and acceptance of God’s entire, eternal word, which is given to us for our good—all 31,102 verses of it.

Listen to a podcast of this topic when I discussed it with Kurt and Kate of Moody Radio Florida here. (18 minutes)

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash