Discussing Paul’s letter to the Galatians, N. T. Wright reminds us that:

“Generations of Christians who have read Galatians as part of holy scripture have to remind themselves that, if Galatians is part of the Bible, it is Galatians as we have it [emphasis in the original] that is part of the Bible—warts and all, sharp edges and sarcastic remarks included. Perhaps, indeed, that is what “holy scripture” really is—not a calm, serene lists of truths to be learned or commands to be obeyed, but a jagged book that forces you to grow up in your thinking as you grapple with it.” — N. T. Wright [1]

Scripture (and I’m quite certain Wright would agree) is more than a jagged book, but it definitely has it’s jagged edges. I think it’s incumbent upon those who want to grow into Christian maturity to be willing to acknowledge and accept the “warts” in the book that we hold sacred. Too often we have ignored the Bible we have in favor of the bible we wish we had. The first is sacred and authoritative, the second is not.

[1] N. T. Wright, Paul: A Biography (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2018), 142-143.