Let me just come right out and say it: I like big buts. Now, big buts can get in the way just like those other big ones can (you know, the ones with 2 t’s that Sir Mix A Lot sang about), and if you’re the possessor of one of the latter and have ever tried to find a seat in a crowded movie theater, you already know it’s true. If you aren’t, stuff a couple of pillows in some sweat pants and give it a whirl the next time you pay too much at the box office, and be sure to have the biggest tub of popcorn with you so you can spill some on the innocent people you encounter. You may or may not enjoy the movie, but you’ll never forget how quickly big buts can get in the way.
Of course, there’s a reason they get in the way, and that’s why I like them so much. They kind of jump out at you and scream, “HOLD UP!! SOMETHING IMPORTANT IS COMING! PAY ATTENTION!!!” They are hard to miss, and they can change everything. Sometimes they point to an excuse that needs to be dealt with (“I would love to come to your Tupperware party, BUT I’ve got to do my taxes.”). Sometimes they reveal that we don’t really mean what we say (you know, like when someone apologizes by saying, “I’m sorry, BUT if you hadn’t been such a jerk I never would have done that!”).
Even though excuses and insincerity are bad, the buts do a great job of getting in the way and pointing out the problem like a big blinking neon sign. In fact, if you’ve ever heard someone say anything close to those lame statements, my guess is that you walked away from those people with a much clearer understanding of where you stood, which was right under their big but.
The fact that big buts reveal cracks in our thinking (my apologies to plumbers everywhere) is the biggest reason why I love them so much. Whether or not you realize it, most of us have a tendency to believe something is true just because we feel something is true.
If we feel like a failure, we believe we’re a failure.
If we feel left out, we believe we’re unwanted.
If we feel like our sin is too bad, then we believe that we’re hopeless.
If we feel unworthy, we believe we’re unloveable.
You can see the slippery slope there, can’t you, especially for people who have chosen to follow Jesus and trust what He says about them? And when the sliding begins to happen, we need something to grab our attention and make us rethink truth.
Something like a really big but.
So, if you have found yourself following Jesus but for whatever reason are currently on the wrong side of the emotional tracks that can derail the truth of what He says about you, here is a collection of some of my very favorite big buts. Feel free to shake them in front of the devil anytime you’d like.
We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, BUT of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10:39)
Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. BUT now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:12-13)
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. BUT you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
BUT God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. (Genesis 8:1)
You intended to harm me, BUT God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. (Genesis 50:20)
My flesh and my heart may fail, BUT God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)
You killed the author of life, BUT God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. (Acts 3:15)
BUT God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:27)
BUT God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
Those are just some of the biggest buts in the Bible. Feel free to share others that you like in the comments below.
