For me, I’m choosing a crossword puzzle over a sudoku ten times out of ten. In fact, the only games on my phone are word games. Though I enjoy that form of entertainment, I certainly don’t like others playing word games with me. Early in his teenage years, I told my son to take out the garbage. I later found the bag just outside the front door, about 20 yards from the bin at the curb. On seeing it, I immediately knew what had happened. He had chosen to interpret my words to his advantage. He played a word game.
To the frustration of many parents, that age group seems prone to parsing words that way, but they’re not the only ones. Adults do it too. In fact, the legal industry is built on it. That’s why people always tell you to “read the fine print.” The fine print wouldn’t be necessary if consumers didn’t play word games to gain an advantage, and it wouldn’t be so small if merchants weren’t playing the same games for the same reason.
The New Testament Pharisees were religious lawyers and masters of wordplay. They made a living by identifying religious loopholes, and Jesus called them out for it.
Could there be a more crushing blow to the egos of men who exulted in their own intellect? They were revered (and feared) for their great learning, yet they wielded it to dominate others and prop themselves up. They were self-serving rhetorical windbags who played word games with Scripture. For that, Jesus called them “blind guides,” “hypocrites,” “whitewashed tombs,” and “serpents”!
This tactic is what led Jesus to tell people to stop playing word games when making a promise. He made it very uncomplicated when He said, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Mt. 5:37). James reiterated the concept when he wrote, “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation” (Jas. 5:12).
So-called “word studies” of the Bible can be helpful, but too often they devolve into word games that justify or excuse sinful behavior. When you study God’s Word, begin by humbling yourself. Ask God to keep you from playing word games with His commandments. May it never be said of you, “This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me” (Is. 29:13).
Regarding our ability to understand truth, 1 Corinthians 13 says that in this life we “see in a mirror dimly” and that we “know in part,” but that is different from twisting what we do see and do know to our advantage. Ask God to show you plainly what His Word teaches and to help you plainly obey it. Don’t look for loopholes, try to bargain with God, or make empty promises. His Word is nothing to play with.