What happens when what we believe about God isn’t what He has revealed about Himself?

In The Kingdom of a Thousand Maps, every village believed it knew the King.

One believed He existed to provide happiness and blessings. Another believed He approved of their righteousness and condemned everyone else.

Neither village thought it had invented a false understanding of Him.

And perhaps that’s what makes the story uncomfortable.

We all tend to believe we’re right. Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t believe what we do.

But sincerity doesn’t necessarily make something true.

Our beliefs shape far more than our understanding of God. They influence how we see other people, how we vote, what we consider right and wrong, and which cultural ideas we embrace or reject.

And those beliefs come from somewhere.

Family. Experience. Education. Religion. Politics. Social media. The people we trust.

Sometimes we know exactly why we believe something. Other times, we’ve heard it repeated so often that we’ve never thought to question it.

But what happens when those beliefs are placed beside Scripture?

Will we allow God’s Word to challenge them?

Or will we search for passages that confirm what we’ve already decided?

Let’s open the Book.

A note before we begin: You’ll find Scripture passages to read and questions to consider throughout this study. You don’t need to be a Bible expert. Take your time, read the passages in context, and consider what they mean. If you’re unsure how to find relevant Scriptures for questions of your own, there’s an optional guide at the end: How Do I Find What the Bible Says About Something?

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Part One: Discovering Who Defines Truth

1. Can we be sincere and still be wrong?

Read: Proverbs 14:12 and Jeremiah 17:9–10

Proverbs warns that a way can seem right to someone and still lead to destruction.

Jeremiah reminds us that the human heart can deceive us, while God sees what we cannot.

These passages don’t mean every thought or feeling is wrong. They remind us that our own understanding is not an infallible standard of truth.

Think about the animals in Evermere.

Pippin sincerely believed the King wanted him to be happy and prosperous.

Bartholomew sincerely believed his obedience made him more righteous than the creatures across the river.

Neither thought he was wrong.

And both could point to things that seemed to support their beliefs.

Pippin could speak about the King’s generosity. Bartholomew could speak about the King’s holiness.

But each had emphasized certain truths while overlooking others.

Questions to consider:

• Have you ever been completely certain about something and later discovered you were wrong?
• How much of what you believe about God comes directly from studying Scripture?
• Are there beliefs you’ve accepted primarily because someone you trust taught them to you?

2. What happens when we create a version of God we prefer?

Read: Romans 1:21–25

Paul describes people exchanging the truth about God for a lie and worshiping created things rather than the Creator.

In Evermere, the animals fashioned statues from materials the King Himself had created.

But their statues reflected their own desires.

One wanted a King who would provide comfort.

Another wanted a King who would affirm his righteousness.

We may not build physical statues, but we can still be tempted to reshape our understanding of God around what we want Him to approve.

We may emphasize His love while overlooking His holiness.

Or emphasize His judgment while overlooking His mercy.

We may expect Him to bless our plans, support our political positions, or confirm that the people we disagree with are the problem.

Yet Scripture reveals a God who cannot be reduced to our preferences.

Questions to consider:

• Which characteristics of God are easiest for you to embrace? Which are hardest?
• Have you ever avoided a passage because it challenged something you believed or wanted?
• Are you more interested in what God says about other people’s behavior than what He says about your own?

3. What if God’s wisdom challenges ours?

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18–31

Paul explains that the message of Christ crucified appeared foolish to some and offensive to others.

God’s way of accomplishing salvation challenged human expectations.

The cross was not the kind of victory many anticipated.

Yet Paul describes Christ as the power and wisdom of God.

This passage isn’t an argument against learning, reasoning, or asking thoughtful questions.

It’s a warning against placing human wisdom above God’s revelation.

Notice how Paul ends the passage.

No one has grounds to boast before God.

That’s an important lesson for every creature in Evermere, including Wren.

She discovered something the others had missed. But even that knowledge became a temptation toward pride.

Questions to consider:

• Have you ever dismissed a biblical teaching because it didn’t seem reasonable or fair to you?
• Is there a difference between understanding Scripture and using Scripture to prove you’re better than someone else?
• How might the message of the cross challenge our ideas about power, success, and righteousness?

4. Can we read the Bible and still miss its message?

Read: John 5:39–40

Jesus speaks to people who diligently search the Scriptures, yet refuse to come to Him.

That’s a sobering warning.

It is possible to possess religious knowledge without responding to the One Scripture reveals.

Bartholomew read the Book, but focused on passages that supported his judgments while overlooking those that challenged his pride.

Wren also had to learn that reading the Book was not a reason to feel superior.

The goal of studying Scripture isn’t simply to accumulate knowledge.

It’s to know God and respond faithfully to His truth.

Questions to consider:

• When you read Scripture, are you looking primarily for confirmation of what you already believe?
• Do you read passages that challenge your understanding as carefully as those that support it?
• Is your knowledge of Scripture producing greater humility and love?

5. Who is the King?

Read: John 1:1–14; Colossians 1:15–20; John 14:6

These passages bring us to the heart of the story.

Jesus is not merely a teacher offering a better set of rules.

John identifies Him as the eternal Word who became flesh.

Colossians declares that all things were created through Him and for Him, and that reconciliation comes through His work on the cross.

And Jesus says:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” — John 14:6 (ESV)

The King is not a creation of His creatures.

He is their Creator.

And He did not leave humanity to invent its own road back to Him.

Questions to consider:

• How does Scripture’s description of Jesus compare with the picture you’ve carried of Him?
• What difference does it make that reconciliation with God comes through Christ rather than our efforts?
• Are you seeking to know Jesus as He reveals Himself, or primarily seeking what you hope He will provide?

6. Are we willing to be corrected?

Read: 2 Timothy 3:16–17 and Romans 12:2

Paul tells Timothy that Scripture is useful for teaching, correction, and training in righteousness.

Correction.

It’s an important word.

If Scripture is meant to correct us, we should expect to encounter moments when our beliefs, attitudes, or actions need to change.

Romans 12:2 calls believers to be transformed by the renewing of their minds.

That is more than learning information.

It’s allowing God’s truth to reshape how we think and live.

Questions to consider:

• When was the last time Scripture changed your mind about something?
• Are you willing to change a deeply held belief if careful study reveals that it conflicts with God’s Word?
• Do you approach Scripture expecting only encouragement, or are you open to correction?

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Part Two: When Our Beliefs Meet the Real World

It’s one thing to say we want God’s truth.

It’s another to allow that truth to challenge how we live.

Our beliefs influence whom we trust, whom we avoid, what makes us angry, what we defend, and how we treat people who disagree with us.

This is where the story of Evermere becomes more than a fairytale.

7. How do we see people who believe differently?

Read: Genesis 1:26–27; Luke 18:9–14; James 3:9–10

Genesis tells us that human beings are made in God’s image.

James reminds believers that the same mouths used to praise God can also curse people made in His likeness.

And in Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee who thanks God that he isn’t like other sinners.

The Pharisee is confident in his righteousness.

The tax collector recognizes his need for mercy.

Jesus says the tax collector, rather than the Pharisee, goes home justified.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t suggest sin is unimportant.

Instead, He confronts the pride of someone who measures his standing before God by comparing himself with others.

Think about how easily this happens today.

We hear that someone supports a political position we oppose, identifies with a movement we disagree with, or lives according to values that conflict with our understanding of Scripture.

How quickly does that information become the way we define the entire person?

We may know what someone believes today without knowing their experiences, their questions, their struggles, or what God may yet do in their life.

Biblical conviction does not give us permission to forget someone’s humanity.

We can disagree with a belief without treating the person who holds it as an enemy.

Questions to consider:

• When you encounter someone whose beliefs conflict with yours, do you become curious about how they reached those conclusions—or immediately prepare your argument?
• Do you see someone who needs God’s grace, just as you do, or someone whose wrongness makes you feel more righteous?
• Can you speak truth without assuming you know everything about the person hearing it?

8. What happens when faith meets politics?

Read: Psalm 146:3–5; Micah 6:8; James 1:19–20; Philippians 3:20

Politics presents a particular challenge because we are often asked to choose between imperfect people, competing priorities, and policies with significant consequences.

Christians may evaluate those choices through biblical convictions about life, justice, sexuality, family, care for the vulnerable, honesty, and the responsibilities of government.

Those convictions matter.

But political parties are not the kingdom of God.

And no political leader perfectly represents the character of Christ.

Psalm 146 warns against placing ultimate trust in human rulers.

Micah calls God’s people to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him.

James warns that human anger does not produce the righteousness of God.

And Paul reminds believers that their ultimate citizenship is in heaven.

So what happens when the candidate whose policies we prefer behaves dishonestly?

What happens when someone on our political side treats others cruelly?

Do we apply the same biblical standards we would apply to an opposing candidate?

Or do we begin making excuses because we believe our side is defending something important?

We may still conclude that one candidate or policy is the better choice.

But choosing between imperfect options does not require calling wrongdoing good.

And political agreement should never become our test of whether another person deserves kindness, dignity, or a hearing.

Questions to consider:

• Am I evaluating political leaders and policies according to consistent principles, or do my standards change depending on who benefits?
• Have I confused supporting a political position with defending everything associated with the people who hold it?
• Does the way I discuss politics reflect the humility, truthfulness, and self-control Scripture calls me to demonstrate?

9. Who decides what is right when culture changes?

Read: Romans 12:2; Isaiah 5:20; Mark 7:6–13; Acts 17:11

Every culture has ideas about what is acceptable, admirable, harmful, or unjust.

Those ideas change over time.

Sometimes cultural change exposes real wrongdoing and encourages greater justice.

Other times, cultural acceptance can normalize things Scripture challenges.

That means Christians cannot simply assume an idea is right because it is traditional—or because it is new.

Jesus challenged religious traditions that displaced God’s commands in Mark 7.

Romans 12:2 warns believers against being conformed to the world.

And the Bereans in Acts 17 were commended for examining the Scriptures to evaluate what they were being taught.

Consider some of today’s difficult conversations: abortion, sexuality, gender identity, marriage, individual freedom, and the meaning of love.

People approach these questions from different starting points. Some emphasize personal autonomy and equality. Others emphasize biblical commands, the sanctity of life, or their understanding of God’s design for humanity. Christians themselves sometimes disagree about how particular passages should be interpreted or applied.

The question for someone seeking to follow Jesus cannot stop at, “What does my culture say?”

But neither should it stop at, “What has my church, family, or political community always told me?”

We need to open Scripture, study its meaning in context, and carefully distinguish what the text teaches from our assumptions and its application to modern questions.

And when we reach a conviction, we must still ask how Scripture calls us to live it out.

Truth and love are not competing obligations.

Questions to consider:

• Have I adopted a position because it is popular among people I respect, without examining the biblical reasoning?
• Do I study passages that challenge my position as carefully as those that support it?
• When discussing a difficult moral issue, am I trying to understand and communicate truth—or simply win the argument?
• If I believe Scripture calls me to disagree with someone’s choices, how does it also call me to treat that person?

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Part Three: Putting a Cultural Belief to the Test

We’ve talked about examining beliefs through Scripture.

But what does that actually look like?

Let’s walk through an example.

Example: “Love Means Accepting People Just as They Are”

You’ve probably heard some version of this statement:

“If you really love someone, you’ll accept them just as they are.”

It sounds compassionate.

And there’s something important in it. Every person deserves to be treated with dignity, and love should never depend on someone agreeing with us.

But does Scripture define love as accepting everything someone believes or does?

Step 1: Identify what the statement is claiming.

The statement could mean two different things:

• We should love people regardless of their beliefs, choices, or circumstances.
• If we love someone, we must affirm their beliefs and choices.

Those are not necessarily the same claim.

Before evaluating a cultural idea, we need to understand what it actually means.

Step 2: Open Scripture and examine the context.

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4–7; Galatians 6:1–2; Matthew 5:43–48

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul describes love as patient, kind, humble, and not self-seeking.

He also says love does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

In Galatians 6, believers are instructed to restore someone caught in sin gently, while watching themselves.

And in Matthew 5, Jesus commands His followers to love even their enemies.

These passages address different situations, so we shouldn’t flatten them into a single rule for every relationship.

But together, they help us examine the relationship between love, truth, humility, and correction.

Step 3: Compare the statement with Scripture.

Does Scripture support loving people regardless of whether they agree with us?

Yes. Jesus even commands His followers to love their enemies.

Does Scripture teach that loving someone requires affirming everything they believe or do?

No. Biblical love can include truthful disagreement, correction, and boundaries.

Does that give us permission to be harsh, arrogant, or condemning?

No. Scripture calls us to humility, patience, gentleness, and self-examination.

Step 4: Consider how this changes real life.

Imagine a friend shares a belief or decision that conflicts with your understanding of Scripture.

You have several possible responses.

You could agree simply to avoid discomfort.

You could immediately argue, making sure they know they’re wrong.

Or you could listen, seek to understand, examine whether your own position is biblically grounded, and respond with both honesty and genuine care.

Sometimes that means expressing disagreement.

Sometimes it means asking questions.

Sometimes it means simply being present and continuing the relationship.

Not every conversation requires an immediate correction.

Step 5: Form a conclusion grounded in Scripture.

Rather than simply accepting or rejecting the cultural statement, we can refine it:

“I am called to love people as they are, but loving them does not require me to affirm everything they believe or do. And disagreeing with them never excuses me from treating them with dignity, humility, and kindness.”

That conclusion is more precise than the original slogan.

And notice something important.

We didn’t begin by asking whether the statement was popular, politically acceptable, or consistent with our personal preferences.

We asked what it meant, examined Scripture, and considered how biblical truth should shape our response.

Now Try It Yourself

Choose a familiar statement:

• “Follow your heart.”
• “You deserve to be happy.”
• “My body, my choice.”
• “Only God can judge me.”
• “If it doesn’t hurt anyone, it isn’t wrong.”

Before deciding whether you agree or disagree, ask:

1. What exactly is this statement claiming?
2. What passages of Scripture speak to its underlying ideas?
3. What did those passages mean in their original context?
4. Which parts of the statement align with Scripture, and which may conflict?
5. How should what I discover change the way I think, speak, and act?

The goal isn’t to find a verse that wins an argument. It’s to allow Scripture to examine the belief—including our own assumptions about it.

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Part Four: Living the Truth We Discover

10. Can we stand for truth without becoming like Bartholomew?

Read: Ephesians 4:15; Galatians 6:1–2; 2 Timothy 2:24–26; Matthew 7:1–5

This may be one of the most difficult applications.

We can be so concerned about defending truth that we forget how Scripture instructs us to defend it.

Paul calls believers to speak the truth in love.

Galatians instructs those restoring someone caught in sin to do so gently, while watching themselves.

In 2 Timothy, the Lord’s servant is told not to be quarrelsome, but kind, patient, and gentle when correcting opponents.

Jesus warns us to examine the plank in our own eye before addressing the speck in someone else’s.

None of these passages asks us to pretend that right and wrong do not exist.

They challenge the spirit in which we approach others.

Bartholomew’s problem wasn’t simply that he cared about righteousness.

It was that he had begun using righteousness to elevate himself.

He could recognize wrongdoing across the river while remaining blind to his own pride.

And Wren nearly fell into the same trap.

Questions to consider:

• Does my concern for truth lead me to pray for people, serve them, and patiently engage with them—or mostly to criticize them?
• Am I willing to be corrected by the same Scriptures I use to correct others?
• Would someone who disagrees with me still recognize genuine love in how I treat them?

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A Challenge for This Week

Choose one belief you feel strongly about.

It might concern politics, relationships, morality, faith, or how you judge other people.

Before searching for another argument that supports your position, open Scripture.

Read the relevant passages in context.

Ask what they reveal about God’s character, what they actually command or teach, and whether you’ve added assumptions of your own.

Then consider how that truth should influence not only what you believe, but how you speak, act, and treat others.

The goal is not to become uncertain about everything.

It is to become more firmly grounded in what is true—and more humble about ourselves.

One Last Question

Imagine standing in Evermere after the storm.

The statues have fallen. The maps have failed. And the Book lies open before you.

Would you begin reading to discover where the other creatures went wrong?

Or would you be willing to discover where you might have misunderstood the King?

The purpose of opening Scripture isn’t to prove that we were right all along. It’s to know the God who has revealed Himself—and to be transformed by His truth.

Don’t just take the story’s word for it.

Open the Book. Discover the King for yourself.

Even If, Still — evenifstill.com

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Optional Guide: How Do I Find What the Bible Says About Something?

Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “Just look it up in the Bible.”

But where do you start?

The Protestant Bible contains 66 books, written across many centuries, with history, poetry, prophecy, letters, and accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings.

It isn’t arranged like a dictionary where you can simply turn to a topic and find every answer in one place.

And that’s okay. You don’t need to know everything about the Bible to begin exploring it.

Let’s walk through an example.

Step 1: Start with a question

Suppose you hear someone say:

“Just follow your heart.”

It sounds encouraging. But what does the Bible say about trusting our feelings and desires?

Start by identifying a few related words:

Heart, desires, wisdom, guidance, trust.

These become your starting points for searching.

Step 2: Find relevant passages

You can use a Bible concordance, the search feature in a Bible app, or free websites such as:

• Bible Gateway — Search for words and read passages in different translations.
• Blue Letter Bible — Explore cross-references, word meanings, and study resources.

Try searching for heart or trust.

You might discover:

• Proverbs 3:5–6 — Trusting the Lord rather than relying solely on our own understanding.
• Jeremiah 17:9–10 — The human heart can be deceptive; God knows it fully.
• Proverbs 4:23 — Guarding our hearts because our lives are shaped by them.
• Psalm 37:4 — Delighting in the Lord and the desires of our hearts.

These are starting points, not necessarily the complete biblical answer.

Step 3: Read more than one verse

This is important.

A verse can sound very different when separated from the passage surrounding it.

Ask:

• Who is speaking or writing?
• Who is being addressed?
• What is happening in the surrounding passage?
• What is the main point the author is making?

For example, Jeremiah 17:9 describes the heart as deceitful. But read Jeremiah 17:5–10, and you’ll see a broader contrast between trusting in human strength and trusting in the Lord.

Context helps us understand what a passage actually means.

Step 4: Compare what other passages say

Sometimes one passage addresses a warning while another addresses a promise or a different aspect of the same subject.

Proverbs warns against relying solely on our own understanding.

Yet Psalm 37:4 speaks about the desires of the heart in the context of delighting in the Lord.

Reading both helps us avoid concluding that every desire is wrong or that every desire should be followed.

Scripture provides a fuller picture when we examine related passages in their contexts.

Step 5: Ask what Scripture teaches before deciding how to apply it

This is where we need to be careful.

We don’t want to begin with the answer we prefer and then search for verses that support it.

Instead, ask:

What does this passage actually teach?

Then ask:

How should that truth influence my life?

For our example, we might conclude:

My feelings and desires are real, but they aren’t an infallible guide to what is right. I need to examine them in light of God’s wisdom rather than simply following wherever they lead.

That’s an application drawn from the passages we’ve studied, not a direct Bible quotation.

Step 6: Keep asking questions

You may discover passages you don’t understand or teachings that seem to conflict.

Don’t be discouraged.

Read the surrounding chapters. Compare translations. Look at related passages. Consult trustworthy study resources, and ask thoughtful questions.

You don’t have to settle everything in one sitting.

And remember, finding a verse that mentions your topic isn’t the same as understanding what the Bible teaches about it.

The goal isn’t to find Scripture that agrees with us. It’s to discover what Scripture says—even when it challenges us.

You don’t have to be a scholar to open the Bible. Begin with a question, read carefully, and be willing to learn.

Open the Book. Discover the King for yourself.