Sum, not some

The sum of Your word is truth [the full meaning of all Your precepts], And every one of Your righteous ordinances endures forever. (Psalm 119:160)

If you hadn't considered this passage before, let me begin by saying that there are far too many individuals today who take God's Word as a kind of smorgasbord of ideas they can pick and choose from as they wish. The SUM of his Word is truth - not SOME of it. That might seem a little too narrow-minded to some, but whenever we exclude any part of his Word as 'impractical', 'not for present day', or 'unimportant', we are always going to arrive at a 'partial SUM' rather than the SUM.

According to PhraseHub.com, the original use of 'pick and choose' ranges back to the 1500's. While it may have first been used as a term when selecting fruits and vegetables at the market, picking only the best-looking ones and leaving the rather squishy or overripe ones, the meaning includes much more. It really carries the meaning of choosing one's 'best options' - using critical decision-making as a means of being 'selective'. The unfortunate thing about using our 'critical thinking' to select which parts of God's Word we will obey and which we will discount as 'old fashioned' and 'impractical' is that it leaves us reliant upon our own opinion.

Someone at the market will select the very ripe avocado, while another will select the one that still needs to ripen a day or two more. Is one right and the other wrong? No! Their needs for the avocado are likely different. The one who selected the ripe one likely needed to use it right away! There are parts of God's Word that are like the ripe avocado - they are needed right away. There are other parts of his Word that are like the avocado that needed a few days to ripen. We get both when we read through his Word - some of it is very practical for today's needs, while other parts will likely be used at a later time, but we take in both!

We must never discount the Word of God - it is practical, useful, and will do its work in its time. We take it ALL in, allowing the SUM of it to do its work. In turn, more than SOME of us gets changed, renewed, and healed! Just sayin!