Do you know what a misplaced modifier is? Being a Journalism major and all, you’d think that I would, but it’s never been the easiest concept for me. In the simplest terms, a misplaced modifier is a phrase that is not located properly in relation to the words it modifies. Here’s an example:
The young girl was walking the dog in a short skirt.
Now we all know that most likely the girl was in the short skirt, not the dog. (Unless the girl was Paris Hilton, then they might both have been in a short skirt.) But, you get the idea. The sentence doesn’t convey what it is intended to convey. When the modifier is modifying the wrong thing, the sentence becomes humorous, doesn’t make sense, or at the very least, causes some sort of confusion.
This concept can be applied to so many areas of life. If I misplace my keys – if they aren’t where they are supposed to be – this creates confusion for me when I am trying to get out the door for work. I’m sure me running around the house looking in the same places over and over would become humorous to anyone watching. If I find that I have misplaced my trust in someone, suddenly a situation can become confusing, hurtful and just not make sense. This list could go on and on.
During a Bible study recently I was re-confronted with the concept of misplaced modification in relation to my hope and what confusion that can bring into my life. Misplaced hope is obvious when it’s placed in a person who will always fail us or in a government as our only source of protection or in the law to justify us. That sort of thing I can usually see. But what I am talking about is a little more understated. For example:
Is my hope of security in the job that God has chosen to use to provide for me, or in His promise to meet all my needs out of His glorious riches?
(Philippians 4:19)
Is my hope of acceptance in the wonderful friends and family that God has surrounded me with, or is it in His promise to never leave me or forsake me?
(Hebrews 13:5)
Is my hope of approval in the affirmations that God allows to come my way, or in the fact that He approved me even before I was born?
(Jeremiah 1:5)
Is my hope of having meaning in this life in what I do and the difference I make in someone’s life, or is it in His promise of a plan for my life – good things, a hope and a future?
(Jeremiah 29:11)
It’s a subtle slip from seeking the Giver to seeking the gift. And when my hope becomes misplaced, I begin to doubt God’s goodness and faithfulness to me. If I lose my job, I begin to doubt God’s provision – but that hasn’t changed, only the source of His provision has. My hope has to be in the Source. And when it is not, it sure is a lot easier to believe the lies that Satan whispers...and it's a lot harder to choose joy.
So, going one step further, I guess the question I need to answer is this: What is my hope modifying? Is it modifying the provision or the provider? The answer to this question affects more than just me. For God's glory to be known, my hope must always modify Him and not what He has provided. Because He will always provide...He will always come through. And when others see the provider outlast the provision, He will be glorified.
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