Skip to main content

On Bible Reading, Prayer and Growth (it's not a guarantee):

My husband, Sony has been singing the Read Your Bible Sunday School song lately! The lyrics go:


Read your Bible.
Pray every day (repeat 3 times).
Read your Bible.
Pray every day.
And you’ll grow, grow, grow (repeat 3 times).
Read your Bible.
Pray every day.
And you’ll grow, grow, grow.
I'm so thankful for this song, and what it teaches! It's precious.
But, sadly, I have learned it's not necessarily true. Reading our Bibles and praying every day may not result in growth. Shocking, right!


I learned this sad truth (albeit loosely) from another Sunday School song I Just Wanna Be a Sheep.

I Just Wanna Be a Sheep
Chorus
I just wanna be a sheep
Baa, baa, baa, baa
I just wanna be a sheep
Baa, baa, baa, baa
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
I just wanna be a sheep
Baa, baa, baa, baa,

Verse 1
Don't wanna be a goat…nope
Don't wanna be a goat…nope
Haven't got any hope…nope
Don't wanna be a goat…nope

Verse 2
Don't wanna be a hypocrite
Don't wanna be a hypocrite
'Cause they're not hip to it
Don't wanna be a hypocrite

Verse 3
Don't wanna be a Pharisee
Don't wanna be a Pharisee
'Cause they're not fair you see
Don't wanna be a Pharisee

Verse 4
Don't wanna be a Sadducee
Don't wanna be a Sadducee
'Cause they're so sad you see
Don't wanna be a Sadducee

Verse 5
Just wanna be a child of God
Just wanna be a child of God
Walkin' the same path He trod
Just wanna be a child of God

When we sang this song, my Sunday School teachers would explain that the Pharisees and Sadducees were teachers of the law (the Word of God). They didn't really get into the nuts and bolts of the differences between the Pharisees and Sadducees. But I did learn that they read the Word of God, and they prayed, and yet they did NOT grow, grow, grow. They were hypocrites. They taught the Scriptures, but the Scriptures did not reside in their hearts.

This is what Jesus said of the Pharisees:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, 
but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 
You blind Pharisee! 
First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, 
that the outside also may be clean. 
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
For you are like whitewashed tombs, 
which outwardly appear beautiful, 
but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 
So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, 
but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."  
~Mt 23:25-28 

So yes, it is possible to read your Bible and pray every day, and tragically be dead inside. I was reminded of this when I started Bible College. One of my professors, Dr. David Barker, gave us a stern warning as often as he could. When you go to Bible College, the Bible is the main object of study! The Bible is the whole point of being there! And this means Bible College students write many papers and exams on the Bible. We were constantly reading the Bible. For this reason, Dr. Barker firmly warned us with these words:

"NEVER EVER OPEN YOUR BIBLE AND TREAT IT LIKE A TEXTBOOK! IT'S THE LIVING WORD OF GOD! ALWAYS OPEN YOUR BIBLE IN HUMILITY AND SINCERITY, SEEKING THE LORD, SO YOU MAY BE TRANSFORMED!" (loosely quoting Dr. Baker)

Honestly, I was stunned by this statement. And deeply ashamed for how I had been treating God's Word in the course of my study. It had become a textbook. I was learning much, but it was not being written on my heart. Even now, many years later, it is far too easy for me to slip into this kind of tragic mindset. And in so doing, I'm in danger of being like a Pharisee - a hypocrite.
So, when we read our Bibles and pray to the Lord, I pray that it will be in humility, in sincere hunger for righteousness (Mt 5:6) and a delight to commune with the One Holy God.

"One thing I have asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in His temple." ~Ps 27:4

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Spiritual Battle for My Soul (learn from my near disastrous path to darkness):

After my dear, sweet friend was murdered, I got very lost. I nearly lost my soul.  I pursued a terrifying road to hell.   Grief is always intense, a drowning sensation, an end that is impossible to accept. But in this instance, grief was mingled with profound betrayal. The murderer was also my friend. He was a pastor. I was part of his wedding party. We served in ministry together. He was one of the first to encourage my own relationship with Sony. He was like a little brother. When he was sick, I made soup for him. We laughed together, we sang together, we lived next door to one another. I always had some concerns about him, and he knew it. He often found me glaring at him for this or that childish behaviour. But we laughed about that too. I was protective of the girls, and he knew it. He was part of my main friend group. And he betrayed all of us. All of us…and most of all, her and his own baby. In this case, grief was mingled with confusion. I thought he wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is the Word 'Woke' Helpful in our Engagement with Others?

I’ve always been taught the importance of words and their meanings. I remember my Dad expressing frustration when I flippantly used the word ‘awesome’ as a teenager. This particular word has a glorious meaning, a meaning that my Dad cherished. And my use of the word made it meaningless! He was offended because ‘awesome’ is how God is described. His desire for me was to preserve this word for God, who is holy.  For my dad, awesome meant: “Arousing or inspiring awe; that fills someone with reverential fear, wonder, or respect.” (Oxford English Dictionary) For me, as a teenager, I used the word awesome to describe even the most mundane things. If someone spilled their drink all over their white shirt, I might sarcastically remark: ‘Well, isn’t that awesome?’ Or if someone belched really loudly, I might have said: ‘Awesome!’ I used the word 'awesome' constantly as a teen, but I rarely used this word in the way it was intended to be used.  I confess, I still sometimes use the word ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Plight of Christendom in this Unsettled Moment

I have engaged in more political conversations over the last few months than I have ever done in my life. I keep asking myself ‘why?’. I am not really a political creature. Sadly, I understand more about American politics than I do Canadian politics. I lived in the States for a little while, and I learned a lot more than I expected. People are more political in the States, and I learned by listening to others in discussion. I don’t have as many of these conversations here in Canada. I confess, as a Canadian, I don’t usually know who or what I am voting for when I vote. My life is spent in other spaces. I do a quick glance at the platforms, and I vote. I often don’t watch any of the debates. Life is overwhelming, and trying to figure out what is happening in politics is often something I would not normally prioritize. I suspect most of my friends function like this too. So why am I engaging this so much right now? It started because this year I did want to know who I am vot...
Post a Comment
Read more