If You’re Reading Your Bible This Way, You’re Doing It Wrong Pt. 2

Do you read the Bible? Don’t answer that.

Many will tell you, “You gotta read ya Bible to show yourself approved” or “You gotta read it to make sure they’re teaching you the wrong thing!”

Truth be told, most pastors are not out to trick or deceive you. They have good intentions. Ministers encourage church-goers to read their Bible at home and “see for themselves.” Many church-goers still don’t.

It’s so important to learn Scripture for yourself!

We need to learn verses, passages, and accounts in their original context. Most times, we only know to associate them with a specific idea and run the risk of missing their true meaning altogether.

What if I only ever learn the account of Joseph as a motivational message to never give up on my dreams–rather than how his life fits into this grand unraveling story of God and Israel.

This is where scriptural illiteracy begins. 

We pull aspects of Scripture out mixed with our personal vendettas and experiences and haphazardly apply them to our lives. Scriptural illiteracy doesn’t simply affect your ability to know where Habakukk or Jude are. Scriptural illiteracy will have you applying the wrong remedies and living without power.

“That’s all I needed to hear! I’m going to go home and read my Bible all the way through!” Slow down there partner! (Don’t judge me–I’m from Oklahoma).

Any time I’ve ever set out to read through the Bible, people would always suggest to start with the Gospels. However, this doesn’t make sense to start in the middle of a book especially if you want to properly understand the story.

People are afraid that if you don’t start there you’re going to lose sight of the importance of Jesus. But I ain’t neva’ scared!

We’ve gotta stop being so frightened to the extent to where we elevate our ability to be lost with no hope over His presence and purpose in our lives. If you are reading your Bible and learning the original context, you will not miss Jesus. In fact, we may discover him at a much richer deeper level than ever imagined!

I think a lot of times, we peruse Scripture looking for something relevant to where we are now. We don’t find value in the story as is and we don’t see our ready-made connection to the people in the book. We’ve been taught to interact with Scripture this way. This will not get the job done.

So, my simple suggestion:

Start at Genesis. Go slow. Read as unbiasedly as you possibly can. Let go of your fear. Let of what you already understand. I repeat, go slow.

Who knows what you may find?