Women’s Retreat: What sort of practices help you become more regular in your daily Bible reading?
Me: Giving myself permission to not feel guilty if I don’t read my Bible today.
*blank stares*
Me: Giving myself permission to not feel guilty if I don’t read my Bible today.
*blank stares*
In all seriousness though, this was a real conversation. I know so many Christians who spend more time talking about how guilty they feel for not reading their Bible than they spend just reading their Bible.
There’s a culture of guilt around Bible-reading in evangelicalism. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s there. I can’t remember the last time I talked about daily devotions in church without feelings of guilt pervading the entire discussion, as ppl confessed to not doing it.
No one ever talks about how feeling guilty about not reading your Bible actually functions to keep you from reading your Bible. It’s a vicious cycle.
When I finally realized that reading my Bible every day wasn’t one of the 10 commandments and that God wouldn’t curse me with having a bad day if I didn’t get to it, I was finally able to approach Scripture-reading in freedom, not duty.
Daily Scripture-reading became ten times more regular for me when I gave myself permission to not *need* to read the Bible every day. Now I read it in the Spirit of freedom and joy, not guilt or obligation. And I read it regularly as a result!
I didn’t read my Bible yesterday, and guess what, I didn’t feel bad about it, and I didn’t have an awful day, and that’s not being a terrible Christian. That’s just healthy.
