Unauthorized Biographies

Many celebrities, past and present, are the subjects of "unauthorized biographies," which simply means the book was written without the permission or perhaps even the knowledge of the person whose life is depicted. Of course, if the author wants to avoid lawsuits, there are certain rules to be kept: the material cannot be libelous or an invasion of privacy, and must not infringe on a copyright or constitute a breach of contract.

So the Bible is clear full of unauthorized biographies! Did God ever ask any of the men or women whose stories we read, "Do you mind if I publish this?" He just had His inspired writers tell it like it is! People with admirable qualities are held up as examples; sometimes, like Rahab the harlot, they have only one stellar quality and are remembered for that. (See Hebrews 11) Many of the stories very honestly show both the strengths and the weaknesses—even the sin—of the individuals they present. A few of them:

* Abraham--great in faith, but impatient and not always truthful.
* David--a man with a God-heart, yet he committed adultery and murder.
* Saul--anointed Israel's first king, then fell to greed and pride.
* Peter--eager follower of Jesus, but also denied Him.
* Martha--loved and served the Lord, although hurried and worried.

Others less well-known who might be commended on some counts, but not on others:

* Demas--joined Paul on a missionary journey, then abandoned it for the world's attractions.
* The Ephesian church--patient and hard-working, but left their first love of Christ.
* Diotrephes--a church member, but inhospitable and wanted first place
* Euodia and Syntyche in the Philippian church—and could not get along with each other.

How much richer the Bible record is for including flaws and failures! What if God had approached each individual to ask, "Do I have your permission to publish this?" Great portions of the Scripture would never have been written. After all, you wouldn't want every detail of your whole life displayed for posterity, would you? (Nor would I!) Without the whole truth, we would have only the accounts of success, wealth and popularity. We would have perfect saints, exclusively, with whom to compare ourselves as we seek to serve God. How discouraging! God was so wise just to go ahead and include in the Bible story a lot of unauthorized biographies!

MaryMartha