Has your time in the Word been too powerful lately? Want to get rid of that nagging feeling of peace you get when you trust the God you encounter in the Scriptures? If so, you need to make some adjustments to your approach to the Bible. In this brief series of posts we’ll consider three surefire ways to make Bible reading boring and irrelevant again. Today we’ll cover tip #1:
1. Assume you already know what the text says.
This is a tip you can put into practice in your very next Bible study meeting or quiet time. It’s all about your attitude. If you sit down with a heart attitude that says, “I need to hear what God has to say to me today,” then your efforts toward making Bible study an empty ritual will go right down the drain.
Instead, begin by congratulating yourself for what you already know about the particular text in front of you. If you’ve actually read the text before, you’re golden. Doesn’t matter how long ago you read it. Just take whatever you happen to remember about it as proof that all you need is a quick refresher rather than the full experience of diving into the text.
If it’s your first time reading the text, don’t give up yet. There are many other sources of knowledge you might draw on: sermons you’ve heard, Sunday school stories, VeggieTales episodes, etc. Any of these provides a sufficient centerpiece for your expertise. If you’re in a group and others seem to doubt the profundity of what you’re saying, just talk louder and wave your hands more.
If it turns out that you truly know nothing about the text, then it must be an obscure chapter that nobody really cares about anyway, right?
No matter what you do, don’t read the text the way you would a book that contains vital truth addressing your greatest needs and desires. Don’t let yourself start looking for details or ideas in the text which you haven’t considered before. Remember, you don’t need to look because you already know it. Keep assuming you know it, and you’ll find that before long your Bible reading will be as bland and ineffective as you could ever want.
This can be one of my easiest battles in bible study. This is because I have grown up in a ‘christian’ household. I didn’t really see this as a problem, until I started seeing other people doing it, with a sense of arrogance that was completely detestable. I am so thankful for Christ for having leaders such as you Brian to show me these errors within bible study.
I’m glad to hear it was helpful for you, Jake! No matter how much we learn, we need to remain learners.