First and foremost, when anyone studies the Bible, one must always consider the context of what he or she is reading. Whether examination regards a singular verse, a paragraph, a chapter, or a whole book in the Bible, the context is important. In the hermenuetical work Grasping God's Word, the authors highlight multiple aspects of context: historical and cultural context of the biblical writers, the cultural context of the reader, and the literary context (the writing itself). Even within the literary context one must consider the context of the paragraph of a singular verse, the chapter of a singular paragraph, the book of a singular chapter, and the whole Bible for a singular book.
What any Christian must never do is consider the meaning of a particular verse or statement without considering all of the context. When a person does not heed this warning they may attribute some meaning to Scripture that is wrong or misrepresented at best. The prime example is Philippians 4:13. This verse does not mean that you should be able to dunk a basketball because Christ gives you strength. It does not mean that you should consistently operate on 3 hours of sleep at night or that you should teach Sunday School without any preparation because Christ gives you strength. There are few verses whose meaning has been more abused than this one. The context within which Paul makes this statement clarifies what he means; both specifically and as a matter of principle.
Although studying the Bible holds the place of highest importance when it comes to applying the use of context, the application can and must be made in others areas of everyday life. This weekend there was a tragedy that took place on the streets of Stillwater, OK when a young female driver hit many pedestrians with her vehicle. What does that have to do with context? In the wake of the tragedy comes the reminder that considering context is important when it comes to any statements, again, written or spoken.
When news media, print media, or social media report information on any specific story, people must consider the context of that information and whether or not the information represents truth or untruth. Who is making the statement? Why are they making the statement? Where did they get their information? Has it been verified? What is the context of social media posts? All of these questions are pertinent and necessary. Just as in Bible study, the aim should be discerning truth.
Posts on social media are a key place to apply this. These posts are likely put into one of two categories: a person wanting to lead the dissemination of information of a breaking story, or the person simply wanting to be a part of the story to feel included in one way or another. When reading social media, every consumer and participant must keep context in mind. Why am I writing this? Why are they writing this? Is this true? What reasons do I have to know?
Furthermore, consider the context of news media. The point of being a media outlet is to get people to consume your product. If that's TV, you need ratings. If that's newspaper, you want to sell copies. As an online blogger, you want views. The vast majority of the time this is true, and because these purposes are foremost, the "facts" of a story may get misrepresented, misreported, or disseminated prematurely. Consumers of all these media outlets must always consider the context within which information is consumed, and thereby be responsible media consumers.
Church: we are responsible for knowing the truth, proclaiming the truth, and defending the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). That means we must discern truth from untruth. Not just biblical truth but all truth. One of the keys to that is understanding context. It is not the only key, and it is not the "king" key, but it is nonetheless an important key. Use it.