Unquotable- Not suitable or fit to be quoted, often due to being offensive or inappropriate.

Assigning quotes to someone is a dangerous practice, particularly if you intend to make it offensive or inappropriate. I personally have been publicly quoted only twice that I can remember, both in local newspapers. Once, it was just some statistical statement regarding the growth of my church in the area. Not much to get wrong. The other time was moments after I had won a regional wrestling championship. I had just come off the mat and was still sweating profusely from the narrow victory I had won. My head was still spinning at the thrill of it all when a local sports reporter asked me how it felt. I said, “Wonderful, it is a great feeling to win. I hope to get more next week at the State Championships.” It was a pretty benign expression of thankfulness. But the paper printed my quote as, “Wonderful, it is a great feeling to win. I will get more next week at the State Championships!” Well, only the word ‘hope’ was left out of my statement, but it changed the nature of my intention. I was hoping to do well, not ‘proclaiming’ that I would.

Misquoting and quoting people out of context is an ancient art. Remember this:

“This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.”

Jesus really says, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” He was speaking metaphorically about His body, predicting His death and resurrection. However, His accusers twisted His words to make it seem as though He was threatening to destroy the physical temple in Jerusalem, a serious offense under Jewish law. False testimonies brought against Jesus during His trial were a combination of distorted statements and outright lies. They were driven by the religious leaders’ fear of losing their power and the growing influence of Jesus.

So, in a time when quoting is often done on social media, we need to remember that people frequently quote others in error, ignorance, or malice. Let’s not ‘crucify’ others on a whim. Let us be wise and maintain Christlike behavior before sentencing someone else to ‘death.’

Christ himself fell victim to the ‘unquotable’ nature of quoting. And so have many men and women over the century. Remember this: “We’re going to need a bigger boat.” That’s not the correct quote from the movie “Jaws.’ Nor is this: “Play it again, Sam” from Casablanca. And those movies are in front of us every day.

So let’s be careful amid the clamor of the world not to draw conclusions that are not real. To quote Jesus Christ, ” Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength.” Is that quote right? Did Jesus say that or some other person?