The Conundrum of Daily Bible Reading (Part One)

For over four decades I have mustered all of the passion and eloquence I could find to extol the virtues of daily Bible reading (DBR). When given the chance I still do so. DBR is as basic a Christian discipline as you can find. Whether ten minutes or large blocks, allowing the mind of God to invade your own is a key in building the deepest possible relationship with the Lord.

I faced a conundrum, however.  DBR posed a difficult and complex problem for me.  Although I supported it forcefully in preaching, I was never entirely successful in doing it myself.  Hypocrite you say! Not really. I preached the value of DBR; I never said that I was successful in maintaining a program of daily Bible reading personally.

My admiration of those who do goes through the roof.  The most notable example I know of is my former college roommate and current brother-in-law.  In the dorm I watched R. J. start early mornings religiously with daily Bible reading – not for class – but for his own growth.  Decades later it is still his daily regimen.  To know the number of times he has read through the Bible in his adult life would boggle even a Bible reader’s mind.

So, what went wrong with me?  I recently took an online profile from Psychology Today that confirmed what I have known forever.  I am borderline ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). I start a routine, get bored with it or get sidetracked, and I’m on to something else.  I don’t try to be this way – I just am.  So many times I have started a daily regimen of reading only to get a few days under my belt, and then the inevitable – I don’t stay with it.

Some have asked, “How can someone with a doctorate, who has held successful ministries, written books and articles, who teaches in a university struggle with this?” Such people have not seen the number of books I started to write and never finished; the books in my extensive library that are highlighted through only the first 90 pages but not finished; the programs I started at home or on the job and gave up on too quickly; and yes, the times I started a regimen of DBR which lasted only a few days before I moved on.

That’s my story, and as they say, I am sticking to it.  Some who are like me understand how real that struggle is.  But others face DBR as a conundrum as well.  For some, the old duo of “fatigue and time pressure” are not unfounded myths.  That describes their world.  With draining and demanding time-consuming jobs, families that need time and attention, cars and homes that need upkeep, health problems that zap alertness and concentration, relationship crises and more – the right combination of any of these makes the failure to read the Bible daily not an excuse but a valid reason.

Even in America, literacy is no small problem either.  If we have had the good fortune to learn how to read with ease it can be difficult to remember that some have trouble recognizing and pronouncing even simple words.  We can cry “read your Bible” all we want, but it’s like telling  right handed people to write in a journal everyday with their left hand.  It is not going to happen.

I think often of the early church, when people came to Christ and served in newly formed churches before the New Testament Scriptures were even written.  Once written, in the pre-printing press age with scarce writing materials, many had no access to the written word.  How did they possibly come to Christ, growing and maturing in him?

My point is not that we are unreasonable to urge people to develop the discipline of daily Bible reading.  We should do so.  I will continue to lobby for it.  I will keep trying to stay with it, even if I fail again. We should, however, understand that there is a segment of society that needs another route to do what Peter calls us to.  “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:18).  We will tackle some aspects of this conundrum in a few days in parts two and three, so check in soon.