Honest About My Lack of Bible Reading
Posted by JasonDec 3
This post is part of my yearly journey through the Bible, my schedule can be found here or at the schedule link above. Please feel free to join me.
One of my goals in relaunching this blog is to be more honest. Honestly I haven’t read the entire Bible since my oldest daughter, who turns 4 in January. Prior to that I had read through the Bible several times over two years.
A few weeks ago I posed a question to people on twitter and facebook “Is it more important to be culturally relevant or Biblically faithful.” Overwhelmingly the responses were that it is more important to be biblically faithful. The natural question that follows is how much time to we spend on it.
I am unable to find any definitive research on the matter but I would wager a guess that 50-90% of “lay” people don’t open the Bible from Sunday to Sunday.
I am one of those people in most cases, if you eliminate the scriptures I read for our community group then I have normally been one of those people.
My wife and I confessed to each other on a recent road trip that neither of us have a love for the Word of God like we feel we should. Part of it is familiarity, part is laziness, part is lack of discipline, and part sin and the sum is I don’t read the Bible.
It is my desire to change that this year, I am returning to a yearly reading of God’s word no matter what I need to sacrifice to do it. How can I learn more about God without his authoritative self-revelation?
How can I make the time in a busy life to honor God with my time? Any suggestions?
2 comments
Comment by Steve Bennett on December 3, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Yeah, you sum it up perfectly.
“Part of it is familiarity, part is laziness, part is lack of discipline, and part sin and the sum is I don’t read the Bible.”
We ultimately do what we want to do. That is the epitome of Free Will and probably a quote from the matrix somewhere.
Say what you will we don’t read the bible because we don’t want to take away from something else either by choice or lack of choice.
Now How to fix that? Yeah, I don’t have a clue other than make like Nike and Just do it. ( I love 80’s cliches)
Comment by heatherreneafisher on December 3, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Well being the wife,, ouch, thanks for letting me take the band aid off in front of you and you showing the open bleeding wound to everyone. (just joking by the way)
I’m finding the only way to read is to do it,, i know that is ironic but I schedule time in my day for absolutely EVERYTHING else yet somehow I ignore what is most precious to my existence. I have a very dab will do you mentality. I blame it on many things: “I was never taught”, “I don’t have the time”, “My kids are too crazy”, but in all honesty I don’t take the time. God has given us all the same 24 hours. It’s not whether or not we have the time, it’s how we make the time we have.
So after I ripped the band-aid off to my husband and prayed with a very repentant heart, more came out than I ever expected. Including neglecting my kids from time to time for things I find more important.
Now not that I have all the answers, but I have committed to setting aside time for my Bible & God (right after homeschooling every morning before 9), my husband (every thursday night for an at home date night), and my girls (every day for a “consistent” homeschooling time and less tv watching). Now if I can just schedule time for me in there I may be well rounded.
But I have 4 days down and i’m doing pretty good, but off to read Job (since i’m going chronological)