Candace Cameron Bure talks dangers of believing social media platitudes that misinterpret the Bible
Candace Cameron Bure and podcaster Tara-Leigh Cobble recently discussed the imperative of reading God's Word instead of believing oft-repeated bumper sticker platitudes shared on social media that mangle the meaning of Bible verses.
One such saying Cobble shared on the "Candace Cameron Bure podcast" is, “God’s never going to give you more than you can handle.”
That phrase stems from verse 1 Corinthians 10:13, which is about temptation and says, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (ESV)
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Cobble said that decades-old saying that's still frequently shared on social media often leaves Christians in a state of despair because it makes them feel as though they have to handle their struggles alone, even if they feel overwhelmed.
Often, Cobble said, Christians won’t reach out for support from fellow believers because they heard the popularized phrase and were led to believe God hasn’t given them a struggle they can't handle on their own.
"A lot of things sound really good when you see them on social media," said Cobble, who co-hosted the first season of Bure's podcast. "These one-liners, like ‘God's never going to give you more than you can handle.’ No, that is not the Bible! He does give you more than you can handle because other people can shoulder it [with] you,” Cobble said.
“He can come along and equip and sustain you through that process. And so, those kinds of platitudes that make us feel really empowered, a lot of times are not accurate,” she stressed.
“[Statements like that] are not biblically true. And that leads to a lot of despair when you feel like, ‘Oh, man, I didn't have enough faith to pull that off for you. … I guess I'm not strong enough.’ And so those things we have to measure them against Scripture.”
Cobble said that there are many other false popularized phrases that often lead Christians astray. And she said Christians will only know if a popularized phrase is false if they listen to the Holy Spirit who directs us to read the Word of God and use it as “a measuring stick for truth.”
“I don't have any wisdom of my own. Any wisdom that I speak to you or anybody else is given to me by God. It's Him at work in me and through me. Any comfort that I might offer anybody is meaningless if it all just terminates on some platitude I dreamed up,” Cobble said.
Bure reiterated that point, adding that along with discerning whether a common phrase is false or not, Christians must stay rooted in Christ by reading the Bible because that’s where wisdom to discern is derived from.
“God tells us to 'put on kindness, gentleness, compassion, humility and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against one another, just as the Lord has forgiven you. You are also forgiven. And above all, put on love which is the perfect bond of unity,’” Bure said, citing Colossians 3.
“I put on my clothes every morning. I put on my makeup. I put on my lipstick. I put on my shoes to walk out my door. But the first thing I need to put on is kindness, put on compassion, put on humility and gentleness and patience," she said.
"And those are things I need to be aware of. It's not easy," she added. "It's a choice that you make, and it's a choice that you practice. And you practice something enough that it becomes a habit.”
The fruit of the Spirit would not be possible without the Holy Spirit’s workings, Cobble added.
“[The fruit of the Spirit] is going to come from Him. He initiates it in us and moves us through that process with other believers. … We have access to put those things on through the power of the Spirit and work within us,” said Cobble, who hosts her own podcast, "The Bible Recap."
“It's like every day you're choosing to surrender to the Spirit’s work in you. You're choosing to die to self, to be kind to others who maybe are unkind to you. And it's the spirit who enables us to do that. He's the one at work in us to do all these beautiful things.”
Nicole Alcindor is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: nicole.alcindor@christianpost.com.
