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Why We Don’t Read the Bible

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Erik Raymond proposes 5 reasons why many of us don’t read our Bibles:

  1. It makes us uncomfortable
  2. It’s too hard
  3. We are undisciplined
  4. We think it is stale and lifeless
  5. We have a dysfunctional relationship with God

Did you notice what’s missing from the list? “We’re too busy.” Raymond doesn’t buy that for a moment, and I think he’s right. We always have time for what we value the most.

Raymond’s conclusion:

Let’s be honest: if you don’t read your Bible it is because you don’t want to read your Bible. And to bottom line this further, this is indicative or your relationship with God. We cannot separate a love for the Word of God and the God of the Word.

Do you want to read your Bible? If not, why not?

Raymond’s article explains each of the reasons with helpful action steps of repentance. Check it out!

The Greatest Enemy of Application is Insight

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Application happens when we understand the meaning of a Bible passage (i.e. we see Jesus and our need for him) and conform our lives to it.  This conformity to Christ is the great purpose of God from the foundation of the world (Rom 8:29).

But the chief obstacle to vigorous application is insight.  As we gain more insight into the Bible, we become more prone to revel in the insight itself and not in the life-change that ought to result from that insight.

"Debate Sobre" by Secom Bahia (2010), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

“Debate Sobre” by Secom Bahia (2010), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

For example, have you ever read a verse like Romans 8:29 (which I referenced above) and turned it into a theological debate?  What does this verse mean about the predestination/free will controversy?  Which side is right?  Who has the best insight into what Paul meant by the word “foreknew”?

I’m prone to feel good about myself if I can answer these questions.  I really want to win such debates.  I’ve invested much time fighting my way through them.

But the chief question shouldn’t be whether predestination or free will is right.  The chief question is: How is my life becoming more and more conformed to Christ?  It doesn’t matter which side of the debate I fall on; God’s purpose in my life remains the same.  What must change in order for me to be more like Jesus, so he can have pre-eminence as the first-born?

Insight can get in the way of application in other ways too.  Have you ever felt disappointed after reading the Bible because nothing new and fantastic had occurred to you?

In contrast, have you ever felt the warmth splash over your heart when you see something you’ve never seen before in God’s Word?  Maybe you found an allusion to another Bible passage that wasn’t immediately obvious.  Perhaps a repeated word or idea became clear.  Maybe you felt like you could relate to a Bible character due to some recent experience of your own.  Perhaps you just started to get the hang of this OIA stuff, and you’re amazed at the beauty and joy that results when you can find an author’s main point.

Such insight into the Bible can be invigorating, but don’t let it distract you.  The task isn’t complete until you change.  Keep moving forward into Application.

Jesus warned us of the danger of insight when he used the image of architecture (Matt 7:24-27).  The one who hears the Word, and stops there (possibly rejoicing in his keen insight), is like a foolish builder constructing a beach hut in a hurricane zone.  The wise builder is the one who hears the Word and does it.

What other hindrances to Application can you think of?

Another Enemy of Interpretation is Relativism

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Yesterday I wrote, “Careless observation leads directly to incorrect interpretation.”  Some might wonder if there is such a thing as “incorrect interpretation.”

YES, there is.

In Luke 7:18-19, John the Baptist wanted to make sure he had the right interpretation.

In Mark 12:24-27, Jesus accused the Sadducees of having the wrong interpretation.

The Apostle Peter tells us that ignorance or instability can lead someone to distort (misinterpret) the Bible.  This practice has dire consequences (2 Pet 3:15-16).

I’ve heard people speak of the Bible: “it means whatever you want it to mean.”

Although I appreciate the desire for relevance, may I propose that extreme relativism is, in fact, self-defeating?  If a communication could mean anything the receiver wanted it to mean, then there could be no such thing as meaningful communication.  The speaker or writer intends a certain meaning.  We can agree or disagree with it, but we can’t overlook the fact that it’s there.

In other words, when someone says that it means whatever you want it to mean, a helpful and respectful response might be, “do you really mean that?”

By all means, let us work hard to figure out what it means.

The Greatest Enemy of Interpretation is Observation

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Interpretation happens when we figure out why a passage says what it says. We fail to interpret well when we fail to figure out why the passage says what it says.

The chief obstacle to excellent interpretation is observation.

Of course I don’t think observation is a bad thing. I’ve already written about how we should value careful observation. (See here for a few common examples of less-than-careful observation.) Careless observation leads directly to incorrect interpretation.

However, when you study the Bible, you can’t stay in observation. It’s easy to feel like you’ve really studied the Bible, when it’s possible that all you’ve done is observe.

For example, people often go to Romans 1:18-32 to show that humanity is sinful. Excellent observation! But why does Paul go to such great lengths to show how sinful humanity is? Perhaps it’s because he wants to tighten the noose slowly and imperceptibly around the reader. “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges” (Rom 2:1, ESV).

We find another example in Philippians 4:4-9. This passage is full of beautiful sayings commonly quoted by Christians. We love to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). We find great comfort in letting our requests be made known to God, with supplication and thanksgiving (Phil 4:6).

These are good observations. But why are these verses here? The Philippian church was experiencing a serious rift between two prominent women (Phil 4:2-3). So Paul sent instructions for resolving the conflict to one of his companions in the church. Read Phil 4:4-9 in that light, and the passage comes alive.

Old Testament narratives make up one last set of examples. As we observe these stories, we might notice all kinds of characters to either imitate or avoid, but we might fail to move into interpretation. Now viewing these characters as examples is not wrong (see 1 Cor 10:11), but it’s all too easy to stop with such observation. Why are the stories there? To show us Jesus, of course (John 1:45, Luke 24:44-47). The trick each time is to figure out how.

Remember not to let familiarity get in the way of your observation. And don’t let observation get in the way of your interpretation.

Easy Money Can’t Deliver Community

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Not only does easy money fail to keep its promise of security; it also can’t deliver on community.

My son, do not walk in the way with them;
Hold back your foot from their paths,
For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
For in vain is a net spread
In the sight of any bird,
But these men lie in wait for their own blood;
They set an ambush for their own lives (Prov 1:15-18, ESV).

One hint of this failure to provide community comes in Prov 1:15: “My son, do not walk in the way with them.”  When I trample on others to gain wealth, they’ll eventually withdraw to avoid my folly.

People will catch on to my selfishness and run away: “for in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird” (Prov 1:17).  If I come to you with a proposition for easy money, and you have the wisdom to see through the empty promises, you will fly like a sparrow.  I can lay the net out to catch you, but, unless you are blind to reality, I’ll never gain your confidence.

That last fact gets at the heart of the matter.  How often am I willfully blind to reality?  I hear the promises of easy money, and I want to believe them!  Gaining wealth, by hard work over a long time, in order to serve others, doesn’t sound like much fun.  It sure doesn’t give me much hope that my stress will go away.  So I spend more money, get nicer things, go further into debt, and leave it to my next of kin to pick up the pieces.  This plan of action does not build community with those I love the most!

Next week we’ll see that easy money not only fails to deliver on its promises but also is self-destructive.

Easy Money Makes Promises

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Why is it the case that pursuing a quick buck, as the cost of serving others, will always keep us from being wise and ought to be rejected?

“If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
Let us ambush the innocent without reason;
Like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
And whole, like those who go down to the pit;
We shall find all precious goods,
We shall fill our houses with plunder;
Throw in your lot among us;
We will all have one purse'” (Prov 1:11-14, ESV).

These verses are morbidly comical.  When was the last time you ever had a total stranger approach you on the street and ask, “Hey, whadd’ya say we go find a defenseless old lady, beat her to death, and take her credit cards?  We can share them; I promise.”  It just doesn’t happen like that, and Solomon knows it.  It’s not like the ancients were so much dumber than we are that they’d fall for such a thing.

Rather, Solomon is taking what is usually implicit, and he’s making it explicit by telling a story.  He’s bringing to light what is really going on every time we give in to our desire for more stuff.  We’re not innocent victims (Prov 1:10 implies that we consent to it), and we’re not making life any easier for ourselves.  Instead, we love ourselves and ignore reality.  We believe the world’s promises.

The first promise is that easy money will give me community.  “Come with us… Throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse.”  Easy money promises me that I can be just like everyone else.  I won’t be left behind, and I can’t be the butt of people’s jokes.  I won’t be one of those weirdoes who is out of touch with his own generation.  I will be normal, acceptable, informed, and relevant.  I might even be envied and pursued by others who are normal, acceptable, informed, and relevant.  I will have the community I’ve always longed for.

The second promise is that easy money will give me security,  “We shall find all precious goods; we shall fill our houses with plunder.”  Once I get all the precious stuff that normal people are supposed to have, my life will be easier.  Communication will be easier.  Managing my life will be easier.  I’ll finally be able to relax on that ideal vacation.  My clothes will be more comfortable, my work will be more productive, and my stress level will drop drastically.  I can pay for the car, the house, college tuition, and weddings.  I’ll be set up for retirement.  Problems will disappear, and nothing will shake me.  I will have security.

Next time we’ll see that easy money can’t keep these promises.

Reject Easy Money

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Photo Credit: “Money” Copyright 2007 by Dustin Moore, used under a Creative Commons Attribution license

Financial impropriety will ruin your influence.  Therefore, Solomon commands us straight-out to reject the enticement to easy money.

“My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent” (Prov 1:10, ESV)

It’s not all that complicated.  “If sinners entice you, do not consent.”  Just say no.  Turn away from evil.  Don’t even consider it.

Sinners entice us, and they entice us constantly.  They entice us from within, and they entice us from without.  In other words, sometimes the enticement comes from “out there” (peer pressure, advertisements, and cultural expectations), and sometimes it comes from “in here” (our own sinful nature that says “I want”).  We can’t avoid the enticement.  We can’t prevent it.  Sweet promises of monetary delights are all around us.  All we can do is either accept or reject it, so Solomon cuts through the deception and excuses with a simple command: “Do not consent.”

Photo Credit: “Credit card companies” Copyright 2008 by Eliazar Parra Cardenas, used under a Creative Commons Attribution license

Sometimes the enticement comes in the form of another credit card application.  Sometimes it happens when a neighbor gets a new vehicle, and you want one, too.  At other times, you look at the bills piling up, or at the out-of-date sound system, and you wish for something more.  Perhaps you slack off on your job search because the unemployment compensation is both sufficient and convenient.  Maybe you spend too much time at work, to the neglect of your family or spiritual development.  Or, you‘d like to give money to your church, but so many other things just keep coming up.  Whatever shape the enticement takes, do you consent to it?  Are you a willing participant?

You might wonder why I’m focusing on money and possessions, when it’s obvious that there are all kinds of enticements to sin in our fallen world.  Why not focus on alcoholism, cheating, illicit sex, or violence?  The reason is that Solomon clearly explains what sort of enticement he is referring to when he concludes the current section in Prov 1:19: “Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain.”  He is concerned with the unjust acquisition of wealth.  In other words, the pursuit of a quick buck, at the cost of serving others, will always keep us from being wise.

The Greatest Enemy of Observation is Familiarity

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The first step of our Bible study method is Observation.  Before we’ve even crossed the line of scrimmage, however, familiarity is right there to knock us down.  When we think we know something, we stop paying attention to it.

For example, how many stairs are there in your house?  What color are your father’s eyes?  What is your license plate number?  Name three left-handed people in your acquaintance.

As Sherlock Holmes says to Dr. Watson in “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “You see, but you do not observe.”

Let me give an example.  I recently taught on Genesis 31, the story where Jacob runs away from Laban without telling him.  My initial thought was, “I know what happens.  Why does the story have to take up 55 verses, and how am I going to teach on it?”

So I dug deeper.  I stared at the text and kept reading it over and over.  Things started popping out.

For example, I observed that every other verse in Gen 31:4-16 makes reference to God.  Up until now, Jacob hasn’t really mentioned God a whole lot.

Then I observed that the narrator calls Laban “the Aramean” (Gen 31:20, 24).  That’s funny, because he used to call him Jacob’s “mother’s brother” (for example, see Gen 29:10 where he’s called that 3 times).  So the narrator doesn’t consider Laban family anymore….

Then I observed that Laban calls God to witness their agreement (Gen 31:53), but do you see which god it is?  “The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.”  The true God called Abraham to leave the household (and gods) of his fathers (Gen 12:1).  Jacob knows this, but Laban doesn’t get it.  Jacob swears by the true God, the Fear of his father Isaac (Gen 31:53).

I could go on.  My point is not that any single observation is the silver bullet that unlocks a Bible passage.  Instead, I’m suggesting that the way forward is always to keep observing.  We must be willing to stare at a text until we don’t just see, but we observe.

I’ll give one more big example.  One of the most famous passages in the whole Bible is 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.  It’s the great Love Chapter.  We’re so familiar with it, though, that we generally miss the point.

Read it again, one verse at a time, and ask yourself, “what is he saying here?”  Observe carefully, and I think you’ll see that it’s neither romantic nor encouraging.  It’s actually a stinging rebuke directed toward those who don’t know how to love their neighbor.

Let’s not just see.  Let’s observe.