I’ve been reading the Bible for decades. Its insight is exceptional, and its wisdom is unparalleled. It’s ability to span the cultural divide and centuries of distance and speak to our current circumstances and life challenges is uncanny. But I also believe some of the ways we approach the Bible can interfere with our personal development and restrict our spiritual growth if we’re not careful.
How can something so beneficial and valuable be a detriment to us? Because we approach it wrongly. Here’s a list—not exhaustive by any means—of ways we can approach the Bible that will diminish its benefits and blunt its potential positive impact.
Out of guilt. I always felt like reading the Bible was part of what it meant to be a good Christian. I wanted God to be pleased with me, so I would often read the Bible out of a sense of guilt. It was as if God had a chart on the refrigerator of heaven and was tracking my behavior, and I wanted to get a gold star by my name each and every day. While there is no such thing as a fruitless or unproductive reading of the Bible, I realize now that reading it out of guilt really doesn’t help me grow closer to Him and grow spiritually as much as I should.
At its core, reading Scripture is a relational process. We come to a loving God through the Bible because we want to know Him … to understand what is true … to be changed into the person He created us to be. Approaching anybody because of guilt or out of a sense of trying to win them over really limits the depth that relationship can reach. At the root of guilt is the underlying belief I’m doing God a favor by spending time reading the Bible when, in fact, He has done us a tremendous favor by providing us this resource as a means of understanding His heart and knowing Him more intimately.
Looking to find a devotional thought. I’ve also spent a fair amount of time approaching the Bible for a quick thought that would be an encouragement for my day, or something I could use in my next sermon or lesson. One of the real temptations of pastoral ministry is that the Bible can become a book so we can have something to say on behalf of God to others rather than a means by which He can communicate with us and speak into our lives.
Hebrews 4:12 characterizes the Word of God as ”living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. … It discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.” To treat it as a mosaic of little “bits” for our next talk—theological bits, moral bits, sermon and devotional bits—restricts God’s ability to sculpt and shape our lives through its redemptive, life-altering story. Just as the job of a coach is to interact with us so we can improve and more fully realize our potential as it relates to some specific endeavor, so the Bible is a tool God uses to develop our character and “coach us up.” But when it becomes something so we can have something to say to someone else and not a means by which He can speak to us, we sabotage its ability to function in this capacity.
Reading for content or information. I like information; I’m an intellectually curious person. A number of years ago when I took the StrengthsFinder assessment, one of my signature themes was “Input.” In other words, I’m a collector of information—much of it obscure and rather useless—because a number of things fascinate and interest me. The world is exciting because of its infinite variety and complexity. So … I keep acquiring and compiling information and filing stuff away. I don’t know that I’ll ever use it, but perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.
Certainly, the Bible is a rich place for gathering information. It is a window into a number of ancient worlds as well as the spiritual world. I’ve spent a lot of time reading the Bible to just gather information. But while all of the information in the Bible is fascinating, I’ve also come to learn that knowing facts from the Bible is not the same as having a relationship with God. The person who knows the most Bible facts is not necessarily the person who has the fullest and most comprehensive knowledge of God. If we elevate facts above meeting God, we’ve lost the most important aspect of what the Bible has to offer.
Please hear me—I believe knowing the content of the Bible is critically important. Knowing its truth helps us discern and rightly understand some of the things going on in our lives right now. But I try to no longer approach the Bible like I’m trying to study up for a heavenly entrance exam or getting ready to appear as a contestant on “Bible Jeopardy”. I try to read the Bible out of a desire for a deepening and expanding relationship with my Heavenly Father.
Focusing primarily upon myself. Have you ever overheard a conversation you thought was about you but really turned out to be about someone else? If you have, you know it cannot only be embarrassing but also lead to some deep misunderstandings. Many of us frequently read the Bible as if it’s a story primarily about us—i.e., we read it to more fully understand ourselves and not God. Granted, there are some wonderfully enlightening and instructive things we can learn about ourselves in the Bible. But to think that every word is all about me leads me to misunderstand the primary message of Scripture.
For the Bible is, in reality, God’s story. It’s an all-encompassing and sweeping story about God that spans centuries, transcends cultures, and surpasses each and every civilization. It is only as we grow in our understanding of God, His character, and His plan that we start to understand our place in His story. Perhaps a better question to ask after reading a passage of Scripture is not, “What can I learn about myself?” but rather, ”What does this account tell me about God?”
Thinking it’s only about rules. Most of us, when we first come to the Lord, probably see the Bible as a book of rules. Granted—there’s a lot of other stuff in there … narrative, poetry, historical accounts of long-forgotten events. But its primary purpose is to control our actions by giving us a lot of directions about what to do and not do. In some ways, this mindset becomes a disincentive to spending time in the Bible. For who wants to read a book of rules? I know, for example, I could watch a baseball game most every night of the week … particularly if one of the teams playing is one in whom I have a rooting interest. But don’t ask me to read the official baseball rule book. As much as I enjoy the sport, I would find reading the rule book dry, boring, and uninteresting.
The truth is the Bible is not a book of rules and regulations; it is the account of God and His loving actions in redeeming us and making us into His people. To reduce the Bible as a bunch of rules is similar to viewing my marriage vows as a list of rules. The vows I spoke to Angie almost forty years ago were about the love and promises I made to enhance and protect our relationship. And I made those promises because I wanted to! Similarly, the Bible is about love as well—God’s self-sacrificing, all-embracing, other-centered love. To view the Bible as a set of rules is to miss the whole point and to ruin the loving relationship it was designed to facilitate and protect.
I try to come to the Bible understanding that while God did indeed give us some rules to live by within its pages, they’re not rules I have to follow in order to earn a relationship with Him. Instead, they are rules designed to enhance my relationship with Him.
Psalm 1 talks about how the person who delights in the word of God and meditates on it continually is like a tree that is planted along the riverbank. It draws nourishment and sustenance so it can flourish and become everything it was meant to be. My encouragement is to come to the Bible—not out of guilt … not so we can gain an insight for our next lesson or talk … not merely to learn facts … not with a focus on ourselves … and not out of fear. Come to the Bible to build and enhance a relationship with a magnificent and glorious God who loves us deeply, is committed to our personal well-being, and wants the absolute best for us. When we do that, the Bible will become a source of delight and joy not the source of confusion or frustration that it often is.