Found in Translation

There was a time in my life where I wanted nothing to do with any Bible verse.  They weren’t inspiring or comforting, quite the opposite.  I would view those verses in the context of the hypocrisy I perceived in those espousing them and feel frustrated and angry.  This experience shifted when I learned to translate those verses into a more metaphysical context.  I was reminded of this lately, as the house we are currently renting has a bible verse affixed to the wall.  

“As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” ~Joshua 24:15

In the past, having this in the house I lived would have pissed me off.  It can easily come across as, “look how much better than you we are.  You’re a horrible person and we’re sooo holy and good!”  That is, until you translate it metaphysically.  (Meta = that which comes before.)
Metaphysically, the term Lord, when used in the Bible, can be translated to Law.  In this case, Law refers simply to how things work.  Here is a basic example…

Not Serving the Lord/Law:
Bill is walking down an icy sidewalk.  He slips and falls.  Bill becomes enraged, yelling at the ice.  “Stupid ice!  I hate ice!”  Bill may even hit or kick the ice, trying to break it up and somehow cause it pain.

Serving the Lord/Law:
Bill is walking down an icy sidewalk.  He slips and falls.  It hurts, but ice is slippery.  That is nature of ice.  The nature of ice is also that it is cold and the perfect cure for bruises.  While not thrilled about falling, Bill stays down for a minute letting the ice that he slipped on help minimize the bruise.

Getting pissed at the ice for being slippery is not working in harmony with the laws associated with ice. Ice is slippery.  Getting mad at ice for being ice does no good.  In fact, the hormones your body releases in conjunction with the anger causes further physical damage.
By not fighting again the nature of ice, and working with it, the ice becomes the cure for the injury.
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From this perspective, that Bible quote becomes a simple reminder to not fight against the nature of things and in the process, save yourself a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration.

Anything - biblical or not - can be translated to the metaphysical perspective.  How?  You can always look up the metaphysical meanings of things.  You can also ask yourself!  Contemplate what you’re translating.  What meaning makes sense, and is supportive?  The truth is, if a translation isn’t meaningful for you, it doesn’t matter.  So make it meaningful!  As you continue to grow in your spiritual practice, your interpretations are likely to change too.  Have fun with it and don’t settle for something that could be used for your growth bringing you upset instead.