Scriptures and Self-Esteem

I was randomly reading this article on DGG and came across this paragraph.  It is excellent.

“Very often our misunderstanding of Christ’s word is due not to innocent intellectual slips or lack of information but rather springs from a deep unwillingness to submit to the demands of God. In other words, a disposition of the heart which desires to determine its own affairs, to maintain its own pride, and secure esteem and glory from men, will inevitably twist the words of Jesus to support its own self-esteem. The evil of the human heart regularly precedes and gives rise to many of our apparently intellectual misunderstandings and abuses of Scripture.”

When we read the Scriptures, we often eisegete.  That’s a sad but common error.  However that in itself is not the greatest issue. The inherent disposition of our hearts to twist the Scriptures to our own sinful benefit is the main problem. So then the correct attitude when approaching the Scriptures is the loosening of one’s own grip from control, pride, esteem, and glory. If the study of God’s word is the receiving of divine truth, we will receive nothing if all we have before us are clenched fists and personal opinions.