Context

When I was in seminary, they drilled into us that context is king. Simply put, we were trained that when it comes to studying the Bible, it’s never enough to only read one verse because no one verse stands on its own. It was always important to understand the context within which the verse was found: what happened just before that verse and just after, where did the action of the verse take place, and who was being spoken to.

Life isn’t much different. When we take things as independent events, we quickly lose sight of the bigger picture. Understanding the context of those events can go a long way toward reshaping our attitude.

Nobody enjoys being stuck in traffic, and if you face long commutes to and from work, it wouldn’t take too many days of isolated bumper to bumper traffic jams to send you into a place of frustration and potential rage.

But what’s the context of that traffic jam? You’re in a car, which means you have transportation, something that a large percentage of the world’s population doesn’t have. You can pay for that transportation because you’re employed. In fact, the job is the reason you’re driving right now. And what about the gift you’ve been given to spend time in the car preparing for the day ahead or debriefing at the end of the day? This traffic allows you to transition from work mode into family mode, and if you’re in the car at the right time of the day, you’re doing all of this while enjoying a sunrise or a sunset, a breath-taking event that most of us never even notice.

Taking the time to understand and appreciate the context transforms isolated moments into connected movements, and that’s what creates the storylines of our lives.

Don’t miss the context because context is king.

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