If you were on Family Feud and the question was, “Practices Christians have to restore their soul.” I bet right after prayer you would name reading the Bible.
But if you’re honest it’s really not helping you rediscover your soul. Maybe you would say it feels more like a chore than something that breathes life into you.
I know some of you are shifting in your seats a little bit. You aren’t sure it’s okay to say something like that. This is a safe place.
Or maybe you’re not a Christian and you know some people who claim to read the Bible every day but they are mean, judgmental, joyless people. It just doesn’t seem like the Bible is helping them.
How can that be? How could a collection of books about God and the most loving person to ever walk on our planet…Jesus…make people mean?
I think the problem starts with how people approach the Bible.
2 HARMFUL WAYS
1. CHECKLIST MENTALITY
This is where people say, “Okay, here is the portion I have to read today to get through the Bible in a year.” They approach the Bible like an action item on their to-do list. Read the Bible for 15 mins…check.
The purpose of the Bible is not to get through it, but to get it through us.
It’s easy to read something and not internalize it.
Have you ever made a fancy meal for your family…I’m talking about a meal you didn’t just throw into the microwave. Some meals you just open up a couple of cans and dump them in a pot and presto…taco soup. But sometimes you want to go the extra mile. You watched Rachel Ray…you got a new frying pan and you’re ready to go. You pull out the special spices. You took the time to make a special sauce…not the sauce from a packet…a real one with wine…butter…beef stock…the whole deal.
It’s such a fancy meal you even bring out the candles. This is a big deal! You sit down like a food critic… “I taste hints of cherry and ginger.” “The lime explodes in my mouth.” You want to savor every bite because it took so long. You are looking for details to appreciate in the meal. The last thing you would be thinking about is how fast can I get through this meal. Check…I made and ate dinner. What’s next? (Clean the kitchen!)
If your dinner is taco soup, you’re not breaking out the fine china. It’s just about making dinner…check. Now homework and bath time.
Reading the Bible is not like making taco soup. You are looking for subtle details to appreciate. You are reading slower and seeing if there is anything you need to appreciate about the text.
Maybe there’s a promise you need to claim. Maybe you are behaving the same way as the religious person Jesus was calling out and you need to make some changes.
The Bible isn’t meant to be an item on your checklist to get through as fast as possible. It’s not about getting through it, but getting it through you.
Some of us the problem isn’t a checklist mentality.
You read it slowly and you do pick up on little things but it’s still not helping you because you have a different problem…
2. ACADEMIC MENTALITY
There’s nothing wrong with being a student of the Bible…but here is the key difference… don’t miss this…I read it for someone else’s benefit. I read it so I’ll have something smart to say in my Bible study. I read it to find verses to prove all of my view points. I read it to prove other people wrong.
If you’re honest does most of your Bible reading and study revolve around reading it for someone else’s benefit? It’s easy for pastors to do. Ever wonder why pastors can commit some grievous sins? It’s because they read the Bible for someone else’s benefit. They read the Bible but they didn’t let the Bible read them.
It’s why some Christians can read the Bible and be so mean and divisive. They aren’t reading it for themselves they are reading it to find where everyone else is wrong.
This is important. There’s no correlation between what you know and spiritual maturity.
BIBLE KNOWLEDGE ≠ SOUL HEALTH
The problem is all of the knowledge can go to your head without ever affecting your heart. You can miss being a follower a disciple of Jesus by 12 inches…the distance between our head and our heart.
Some of the most critical and most self-righteous people I’ve encountered know tons of Bible verses, but those passages never seeped into their soul. They fail to see themselves in any of the stories Jesus tells.
The people who were most critical of Jesus knew more scriptures and had more religious habits than anyone of the day. Yet Jesus described their souls as white washed tombs. That’s pretty harsh! They looked good on the outside and they could talk a good game. But that’s all it really was…talk. They were dead inside.
For those of you who grew up in church…who pride yourselves on knowing lots of the Bible…Would Jesus call you a white wash tomb? Why not?
If you know more than the average person, has it made you more loving than the average person?
If the answer is no…could it be because you are just reading your Bible without letting it read you.
So what’s the answer?
DON’T JUST READ THE BIBLE LET THE BIBLE READ YOU.
It’s a profound shift in how you approach the Bible. We don’t read it to get through it. We don’t read it for someone else.
We let it read us. Where do I need to change and grow to bring myself into alignment? I’m not reading for my spouse. I’m not reading for my sister. I’m not reading for my children. I’m not reading for my pastor. I’m reading and saying God speak to me about myself.
This doesn’t have to take a long time. If this is new to you. Start in one of the gospels. Luke is probably my favorite. Some people like John. It’s your choice. Before you read pray this, “Speak Lord I’m listening.” Then start reading. Maybe you won’t have to read the whole chapter before you come to something that needs your attention. Maybe it’s a promise. Maybe it’s a change in your behavior. Think about that the rest of the day. That’s Biblical meditation. You are mindful of what you read and your own behavior.
Maybe you camp out there until you begin growing in that area. So for example…if God speaks to you about joyfulness, humility, or generosity and you think I’ve got some growing to do. I need to double down on this. I need to see what all the Bible has to say about joyfulness or generosity. I need to memorize some verses.
You need to really get that idea and passage deep into your heart and let Christ work on you.
Have you ever had a massage before? They can be great stress relievers but, I’ve found massages can also be painful! They will say something like, “Wow! You are really tense right here and they keep poking, pressing, and massaging until it goes away. When we read something or hear something we need to stick with it so our soul grows.
What benefit is it for us to read something and think, “Wow! I’m falling short on that one,” close the Bible and then the next day open up to a different chapter and start reading again.
We are just reading the Bible and not letting it read us.
The great danger is thinking we have grown because we have read. We only grow when we allow it to read us.
Maybe what your soul needs most is not trying to read through the Bible in a year. Maybe it needs you to go slowly through the gospels with the goal of getting it through you.
You can start the process of restoring your soul today!
