My favorite high school English teacher once asked our class, “If you were marooned on an island and could only have one book, which one would you choose?” After we reflected on that question a while she shared her choice would be either The Complete Works of Shakespeare or the Bible. I thought including the Bible was an interesting choice coming from one who wasn’t a Christian.
Yet so much of our cultural literacy comes from the Bible. Phrases like thorn in the flesh, skin of your teeth, my brother’s keeper, bite the dust, salt of the earth, blind leading the blind, going the extra mile, do unto others – the list is endless – are all biblically based. The Bible has had more influence on literature, music, philosophy, art and even law than we might think. So reading the Bible for educational purposes would have merit.
However, there are so many other reasons to read the Bible. Here are a few…
Reading the Bible gives us firsthand knowledge about what it says instead of relying on someone’s interpretation. So many times scriptures are misquoted. For example the Bible doesn’t say money is the root of all evil, it says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10) There is a difference.
Reading the Bible helps with moral dilemmas we face, enhancing our lives. Whether or not one believes everything it says, the Bible is a tremendous source of wisdom and instruction. Just reading the Proverbs alone would help one live a better life. After all, it was written so all could attain wisdom, discipline, insight, discretion, and discernment. (Proverbs 1:1-6) Whose life wouldn’t be richer by understanding and incorporating these attributes?
Much can be learned from the teachings of Christ. President Thomas Jefferson didn’t like the skewed embellishments of Jesus by the evangelists of his time (some things never change), so he carefully cut and removed the passages he thought reflected the teachings of Jesus from his Bible. He then pasted them into his own version of the New Testament In fact this edited Bible is on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. until mid July of this year. Now Jefferson was not known to be a devout Christian but he learned from Christ’s example and what he taught.
For Christians, reading the Bible should have even more significance. After all, they know all scripture is inspired by God. (2 Timothy 3:16) So if Christians don’t know the Bible how will they know if someone is teaching truth? (1 Timothy 4:16) Teachers/preachers should have sound doctrine. (Titus 2:1) How will we know this unless we have a firm foundation of truth which can only come from reading the Bible?
Theologians and scholars not only read the Bible, they study it. They want to know what each “jot” and “tittle” means. (Matthew 5:18) While there is merit in this kind of study Christians miss the mark if their primary goal of reading the Bible is just to gain knowledge about God. Knowledge is just information. Knowledge by itself just puffs you, it doesn’t build you up. (1 Corinthians 8:1) There is a difference in knowing about God and knowing him personally.
If we approach Bible reading prayerfully God reveals himself to us through scripture because he is active in our lives. He guides and motivates us, and meets us where we are. The Bible is actually a living book. God meets us where we are with scriptures. As we grow in grace God reveals more and more to us. That’s why the same scripture we read today may have a deeper meaning than it did a year ago.
The Bible is still one of the bestselling books of all time. Too bad more people don’t read it.
