The Good and Not-So-Good of Bible Reading Habits

How often do you read your Bible? What goes through your mind before you sit down to read? I often find myself reading or not reading my Bible out of guilt or frustration with myself. I wonder why I don’t “feel” like reading God’s Word, and question if I should even read the Bible when I don’t feel like reading at all. If God’s Word is good for teaching, training, and building up in righteousness, and if I claim to love God’s Word, why do I spend half an hour reading something else first and then rush to fit in my daily devotional time? I claim to rely on the grace of Jesus Christ for salvation, but feel guilty until I’ve read my Bible, which makes me feel like I’ve somehow increased my standing before the Lord.

The following paragraphs address some of these ideas, and also include some encouragement I received from conversations with dear friends who helped me understand how to honor God in my thoughts about Bible reading. The point of this post is not to convince you that reading your Bible is ever a bad thing to do–it’s not! Rather, I’d like to show you and remind myself how our thoughts can corrupt the way we view reading something even as good, true, and beautiful as the Scriptures and how we can take those thoughts captive to Christ.

The Not-So-Good

First, I often hear that a Christian “should” read the Bible. I generally dislike the word “should.” (You can read more on that here.) When I tell myself I “should” do something, I usually end up not doing that thing. Why? Because I’m trying to guilt myself into wanting to do the thing I feel like I “should” do, even though I really, really don’t feel like doing it. Then, I feel ashamed because I didn’t do what I thought I “should” do. I can imagine most of us have felt something similar, even if not in relation to Bible reading. Constantly thinking in terms of “should” or “should not” can easily turn into legalism. What matters is not how much or how often we read our Bibles, but how we relate to God’s Word. Do we love God’s Word and delight in the time we spend absorbed in it, or do we see Bible reading as just another item to check off on our to-do list?

Second, I often tell myself that a good Christian reads his or her Bible every day. So, if I want to be a good Christian, I must read my Bible every day. I start to believe that my assurance of faith is based on my Bible reading habits. Ironically, this idea goes directly against Scripture. Romans 10:9-10 says: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” The Holy Spirit also assures us of our salvation as He sanctifies our hearts and minds–as we become more like Jesus in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Sometimes we don’t feel that assurance, but these times can bring us closer to God when we rely on the truth of His words despite our feelings.

Third, sometimes I read my Bible for my own gain and glory instead of God’s glory. I imagine how wonderful others will view me when they know that I set aside a quiet time during the day to open my Bible, sip a cup of coffee (in a cute mug, by the way) and spend some time with the Lord. Of course, it’s okay to share that I read a certain passage and it would even be okay for me to post an idyllic photo on Facebook of my Bible and cup of coffee resting together. But, why would I want to share a photo like that in the first place? Would I like others to comment on how amazing it is that I carved out a quiet moment in my clearly very busy day to sip a hot beverage while reading the Psalms? Furthermore, am I reading my Bible so I have something clever to say during a conversation with a friend at church? Or am I trying to get my lesson done so I can appear more astute at Bible study?

Questioning our motives in a case like this might reveal how concerned we really are about how others perceive us and how we perceive ourselves. When we take our eyes off of Jesus and focus them on the world around us, our priorities get mixed up. We become more concerned about how others think of us than how God thinks of us. Then, we begin to doubt that we’re worthy of being part of God’s kingdom work and we try harder to make ourselves better. We forget that our self-worth is tied to Jesus instead of the world. God’s love for us does not depend on how much we say during a group discussion, how knowledgeable of the Bible others think we are, or how pretty we can make our lives look. God knew us and loved us before we were even born. We have inherent value because He made us in His image. [1] We don’t have to know the most or be the most well-know in order to be a valuable, wonderful, and important part of God’s family.

The Good

Finally, we can take our thoughts captive to Christ when it comes to our Bible reading habits by remembering a few important things.

First, discipline and self-control are integral parts of the Christian life. When we find ourselves using the word “should” in our self-talk and then feeling guilty because we failed again, we can combat this cycle by thinking in terms of discipline and self-control instead of “should” and “should not” and also by relying on God’s grace. In this case, discipline in studying God’s Word might mean planning to read the Bible at the same time every day. Self-control would mean saying “no” to whatever else we want to do at that time. Inevitably, we sometimes won’t keep to our planned times to spend with the Lord. Especially as a mom of young children, I know that things happen frequently, suddenly, and without warning! Remember, our assurance of faith does not depend on whether or not we keep to our certain schedules all the time. We have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. [2]

Second, the Bible encourages us and gives us the strength we need to resist and flee from temptation. I remind myself of this often when I don’t feel like reading my Bible or simply don’t have a lot of energy after a long day (I like to read my Bible in the evening when I feel more focused and relaxed). Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” 1 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that all Scripture is profitable for “training in righteousness.” Jesus used direct quotations from the Scriptures to resist temptation. [3] God’s Word helps us to both find the rest we need to continue on in faith and gives us the tools we need to “resist the devil.” [4] A right understanding and application of God’s Word in our lives will only bring us blessings, never anything less.

Third, God grows our faith in Him through means other than just Bible reading. Some Christians in other parts of the world don’t have Bibles readily available to buy or read online. God still sustains them by His grace through the power of the Holy Spirit. We grow in faith as we spend time praying and reflecting on God’s good deeds (which includes how he answers our prayers), singing His praises on our own, with our families, and our church families, serving Him as we serve others, and enjoying discussions with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I like this verse from Proverbs: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” [5] Another beautiful and instructive verse that speaks about fellowship is Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Finally, Psalm 77:11 says, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.”

None of this is to undermine the necessity of the Scriptures in the life of a Christian. We cannot truly know God unless we know something of His words found in the books of the Old and New Testament. The Bible tells us the story of the gospel from the very beginning of time all the way to the end. The book of John begins with these words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Nowhere else but the Bible can we find the truth of the gospel laid out in the very words of our Savior.

I hope and pray that you found this post encouraging in both knowing you’re not alone in your struggles when it comes to Bible reading and giving you some ideas that might help you grow in your Bible reading habits. One of my favorite Bible verses is Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God’s Word will always teach us something more about Him–His goodness, beauty, and truth–and ourselves, including our tendency toward legalism, relying on ourselves, and our amazing ability to muddy up our motives with selfishness and pride. But, we have hope in Christ! What a life-giving gift. Continue onward, dear reader, in growing in love for God, discipline, self-control, godliness, prayer, and love for others. Above all, keep your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. [6]

[1] Psalm 139
[2] Ephesians 2:8-10
[3] Matthew 4, Mark 1, Luke 4
[4] James 4:7
[5] Proverbs 27:17
[6] Hebrews 12:2