In a recurring gag from The Jack Benny Program, Jack hears someone say, “You’ll lose everything if you don’t act now.” Jack, who is famously obsessed with money, assumes that there has been a stock market crash or a run on the bank, and panics. But it is a commercial he overhears—an advertisement for hair tonic. Jack doesn’t listen long enough to discover it’s his hair, not his money, that he stands to lose.

That trope – hearing part of a conversation, then jumping to conclusions – has found its way into more scripts and sketches than any of us can remember. If Jack Benny is a complete stranger to you, perhaps you will recognize it from Shrek. Shrek overhears Fiona talking to the donkey about the curse that has turned her into “a hideous, ugly beast” and jumps to the conclusion that she is talking about him.

We laugh at the trouble that Jack Benny brings on himself, and we worry that a humiliated and angry Shrek will hand over Fiona to the evil Lord Farquaad, but we are oblivious to the fact that we make similar errors.

“Trope” was the word I used to describe the comedic device that consists of hearing part of a message and jumping to the wrong conclusion. If that is the right word, then it would not be wrong to speak of an exegetical trope: stopping too soon in a biblical text, understanding only half its message, but acting as if it comprises the whole.  

I once laid out a sermon series titled, “Stopping too Soon,” which was built on this exegetical trope. Included in the sermon texts were John 3:16 (the Bible’s most recognized verse), 1 Peter 5:7, Philippians 4:13, and Revelation 3:20. All of these verses are widely known and deeply treasured, but each needs to be taken in its context.

For example, if I read John 3:16 and stop there, I can cheer myself with the thought that God “loves me” and go about my life without further ado. But if I read on, I will see that God’s love is not mere sentimentality. Because he “so loved the world,” he sent his Son on a rescue mission to save it from its condemnation. If I continue reading, I will see that there is something for me to do in response to this love: “believe in the Son” and “come into the light.”

1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you,” is similar. We memorize that verse and quote it to others who are anxious. But if we stop there, we’ll get the idea that we can cast our anxieties on God and be done—he’ll do all the rest. Yet casting our anxieties on God is not all we need to do. Read on: we also must be self-controlled and alert for there is danger abroad. We must resist our “adversary the devil.” So, it’s not off-loading our anxiety and spending a day at the spa after all!

One passage I did not include when I was laying out my Stopping Too Soon series, but should have, is 1 Peter 3:1: “Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your own husbands…” We read that and either have a conniption at the sexist unfairness of it or we weaponize it and use it to force believing wives to toe the proverbial line.

In one case, we have both missed the beginning of the conversation; in the other, we have missed its ending. The beginning of the conversation starts in 1 Peter 2:13, where we learn that submission is appropriate for all the people of Jesus, not just wives. Submission is a core Christian behavior. As in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the submission of wives to husbands is set within the context of Christians’ submission to each other.

After the instruction to wives is wrapped up, Peter turns to husbands with instructions for them. If we stop too soon, we miss this important part of the conversation. The husband to which the Christian wife submits is considerate towards her. A more literal translation of Peter’s instruction goes like this: “Husbands, likewise, live together according to knowledge.” Peter wants Christian husbands to know their wives: know what they like and what they fear, know their hopes, their weaknesses, and their motivations. Of course, it takes investment to know anyone like this. Peter wants Christian husbands to be fully invested in their wives.

But he doesn’t stop there. He also wants husbands to honor their wives. The word translated as “honor” (or “respect”) has the idea of placing high value on something or someone. Peter wants husbands to value their wives highly, to treat them as people of high standing and great importance. Such behavior was unexpected and highly countercultural in first century Mediterranean society—and 21^st century America. If we stop too soon in this passage, we miss the beautiful reciprocity of the Christian marriage relationship.

When Shrek misses the end of the conversation, it leads to lots of laughs. When we miss the end of a biblical conversation, it leads elsewhere: to confusion, misdirection, and even blasphemy.