Sometimes people ask which translation or interpretation of the Bible is more accurate or correct. The best answer to that question is: the one you take and put into practice in your daily life. We are told that all Scripture is good for moral and spiritual instruction and that is certainly true. This does not mean reading it in a literal and fundamentalist manner but understanding the spiritual principles that are taught and living them out from day to day. Paul did this and he proposes that people look to him as a model. But it is exciting to think that we too can be an apostle and do exactly the same thing by being an inspiring example of love, compassion, sharing, forgiveness, and justice. Our faith is more than a religion - it is a way of life.

Many people do violence to Scripture by a literal interpretation and by using passages to satisfy their own theological beliefs. When used in this manner we can make the Bible say whatever we want. But Jesus delights his crowd of listeners by showing the silliness of a messianic interpretation of one of the verses from the psalms. Jesus is the messiah because of who and what he is not because he is the Son of David. We must always use the Bible in a manner that allows the verses of Scripture to speak to the heart and to the sacred imagination of each individual. The correct interpretation is the one that teaches us how to be a more loving, kind, and generous human being.