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| Stained glass of the Notre Dame. Paris, France 2011 |
In speaking to many of my Christian friends, I find that a lot of times we (myself included) struggle to read the Bible. Hence I decided to write the top reasons why I find it hard to read the Bible.
1. Not enough time
One of the biggest hinderance for myself is the lack of time. This is especially true for the fast-paced Singaporean life. However, where I spend my time reveals my priorities. So for this, I require a readjustment of my schedule.
2. Bible as a book of instructions
The other demotivator is the purpose of the reading of the text. Too often I treat the Bible as a rulebook of dos and don'ts.However, the Bible contains a rich varitey of texts-- some of books are of history, some books are of ceremonial intruction for Old Testament priests and some books are of prophecy (and so on and so forth). No wonder I struggle to find intructions for me! As Chris (one of my friends from the United Kingdom) once told me,
"The Bible is written for me, but not to me."
Instead, I should open the Bible to find Jesus. The self-centred view (i.e. I should do this and that) of reading the Bible hinders me from appreciating the full beauty of Christ.
3. Moral duty
Another demotivator is that sometimes I see reading the Bible as a moral duty-- if I read more chapters per day, God will smile on me.
No wonder I struggle to be satisfied-- this type of debt-paying is tiring! Where does God's grace factor in then?
The Bible is given to me as a gift to understand God better, not as a burden to be worked off.
Conclusion
The Bible was God's gift for us to appreciate Him better. I need to change my priorities, intentions and motivations to read the Bible-- not to make God love me more, but because I love God.
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