In 2023, a TikTok creator shared a recipe for bean soup. The recipe was specifically created to help people with iron deficiencies. Many viewers commented on the recipe and even tried it. Some of them did not have an iron deficiency. A large number responded with comments like, “Well, what if I don’t like beans?” or, “Can I substitute beans?” or, “I don’t have iron issues.” In many cases, commenters attacked the original post because it did not align with their personal experiences.
In response to the commenters’ attacks on the video, another creator made a video describing the trend as the “What about me?” effect. It was observed that it is human instinct to change any content—in this example, bean soup—and make it all about the individual’s experience, even if they’re not the intended audience. Thus, the “Bean Soup Theory” was born. The theory goes something like this: Viewers see or read something that isn’t directed at them, but instead of considering the intended audience, they force their personal preferences or circumstances into the content. Instead of scrolling past, they demand adjustments or attention. TikTokers started calling this pattern “bean soup comments” or the bean soup effect.
Of course, this problem didn’t start with social media or TikTok. Human beings have been doing this to God’s Word for centuries. People come to passages addressed to Israel, or to those dealing with a specific person, or to promises given to the disciples, then apply Bean Soup thinking. Instead of asking, “What does this passage say?” they ask, “What does this say about me?”
An example of how this might work is found in John 14:25-26. The Lord is in the Upper Room with the eleven disciples (Judas has already left). He says to them:
These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (emphasis added)
Who is Jesus talking to? It is obvious that He is talking to the eleven disciples. He was physically present with them. He was not physically present with me. I was not in the Upper Room.
The disciples did not understand much of what the Lord was telling them. They did not even understand that He was on His way to the cross. (With 20/20 hindsight, I do!) But He promised them that the Holy Spirit would come and teach them “all things.” They would be able to remember all the things He had said to them that they did not understand at the time.
These men would later write Scripture. They would take the Lord’s teachings to the nations. They would need to remember and understand all the Lord had told them.
These verses are not directed to me or any other believer today. We were not with the Lord in the Upper Room. We will not write Scripture. We are not promised that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things.
But we frequently hear Christians say, “This is for me.” They claim that the Holy Spirit will teach them all they need to know. In some cases, they say they don’t even have to study the Scriptures. A preacher might say that the Spirit will teach him all he needs to know when he preaches.
This is the Bean Soup Theory at work. We need to realize that everything isn’t about us. When we study the Scriptures, we sometimes find messages addressed to the nation of Israel. Sometimes, they are addressed to believers in the Tribulation period. Sometimes, they deal with the original disciples. If we don’t realize this, we’ll miss what the original Author meant.
