Oct 12, 2010
Why We Don’t Read the Bible: Ed’s Christian Survival Guide
This week I’m adding another installment of my Christian Survival Guide series: Reading the Bible.
I roll out of bed, feed the rabbits, start the coffee, pour tea for my wife, set up the French press, make a small breakfast, drink a glass of OJ, turn on my computer, sit to eat breakfast with my Bible open, and stare. That’s how my day usually begins.
Some days I snap out of it and read the Bible for a little while. Some days I read the same chapter over and over again wondering what all of the words mean when read together as sentences. I wake up slowly.
However, once I’ve hit the shower and dressed, I start to think about my to do list. Editing, queries, freelance gig searches, blogging, social media, e-mails, and book projects flood my mind. I can feel the tidal wave of my day coming, and once it hits, there’s no turning back to focus on the Bible and to listen for God’s whisper in the silence.
The noise has come.
Distractions, a busy schedule, and exhaustion are just a few of the reasons why I fail to read the Bible some days, or at least fail to read it closely. But there are other reasons lurking beneath my self-importance and drive to get things done.
I also avoid the Bible because I’m pretty sure I can handle my day without touching base with God. To a certain degree, I don’t need to read the Bible every day in order to live in fellowship with God, to pray, or to live as a disciple of Jesus.
However, the Bible reorients me toward God, helps me live in obedience, and guides me into his presence during times of meditation. Without idolizing the Bible or saying that God = Bible, it’s safe to say that reading the Bible is an integral part of connecting with God. That is what I tend to forget when my work calls me at the start of each day.
Every day I bump into values, actions, feelings, advertisements, and words that challenge the place of God. The Bible provides a counter-narrative that I desperately need, lest I become lost in my own flawed designs or the whims of our culture.
Why don’t I read the Bible? When I fail to read the Bible, it’s typically because I don’t see how integral it is in enabling me to cling to God each day when there are a thousand things trying to pry me away from him.
Tomorrow’s Post: Why We Shouldn’t Read the Bible
I like your honesty Ed. I have sometimes wondered about going “old school” and memorizing Scripture again. I wonder if this would infuse it into my daily life more. Now I’m wondering what you will say in your post tomorrow on why we shouldn’t read the Bible. You’ve wet my appetite!
Thanks Joel. I’m grateful to have you working through this with me. Yeah, there are a lot of lousy reasons why we shouldn’t read the Bible, but I hope if we can expose them and then look at some good reasons, we’ll then be in better shape to keep the scriptures connected to our daily walk with the Lord rather than feeling like it’s drag. And yeah, I’ve felt like reading the Bible is a drag sometimes!
As far as memorizing goes, I wonder if you could combine a little memorizing of a verse with Lectio Divina? That could be a nice new twist on an old discipline and still cram a few verses into your head. Perhaps the daily office or Divine Hours could help with that? Just shooting from the hip here. Good thoughts.
So true Ed, so true. You nailed it when you said “the Bible reorients me toward God, helps me live in obedience, and guides me into his presence”.
It’s almost like clockwork for me – after several days of not spending time in God’s word, I can sense everything else start to waiver and my attitude start to revert away from Him. It’s when I fall like a brick.
I’ve found that daily spending time with God (not out of a sense of duty) is the one thing that keeps my compass pointed in the right direction. Everything else is just details.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by edcyzewski, edcyzewski and Nathan Duvall, Pastor Will. Pastor Will said: RT @edcyzewski: Is it hard to find time to read the Bible? Today I ask why: http://bit.ly/a6ZMiV. [...]
Wow. Have to agree with Joel, you really have wet my appetite for tomorrow.
I know that spending time daily in scripture will make a difference in my day, but that struggle feels so overwhelming. I hit the floor running in the morning and it seems all downhill from there. Not a good excuse at all, but there it is.
But there’s always that nudge that God sticks in life to remind us. This was mine today.
Thanks.
Glad to be that nudge Kendra. Yes, it can feel overwhelming some days.