Bored with the Bible
We bore easily. I’d blame it on modern technologies but Israel of old seemed to have the same problem. They witnessed the Egyptian plagues. They walked through the parted Red Sea. They lived day and night with the fiery pillar of the presence of almighty God. They received miraculous food six days a week. And they grew bored. Their daily bread grew commonplace, and they complained, “we loathe this worthless food” (Num. 21.5).
“Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and forever.”
Heb. 13:8
He never changes, nor does His word. Like Israel, we, too, can begin to lose sight of the wonder of it all. His unchanging word seems ho-hum. We crave something more. We crave something different. We ache to be titillated.
The shift in our thinking can begin subtly. Here are some signs of boredom to look for. I admit to having experienced them all.
We don’t read the Bible, or we read it very little.
We would rather spend an hour reading or watching things about the Bible than reading the Bible itself.
When we read books about the Bible we race through or skip over the scripture quotes.
We look for “fresh” words from Jesus rather than a deeper understanding of the words we have.
We are obsessed with certain topics and pet doctrines, and we mainly ignore the rest.
We prefer novel interpretations or hidden meanings to the clear message of the text.
We major on mysteries, difficult to interpret, or debatable topics of Scripture, rather than what is perfectly clear. We love the feeling of being “in the know”.
We add to or subtract from God’s word, forbidding or condoning what it does not, “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (see Mk. 7:5-8).
We apply it to others, but do not obey it ourselves
(Lk. 6:42).
I know from experience that these are hard patterns to break. How can we get over our boredom with God’s word?
First, remember who you are dealing with and whose word you are neglecting. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Pr. 9:10). Confess to God what you’ve been doing and pray, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Ps. 119:18).
Second, commit to knowing and obeying His word. When you do, you will find that though he never changes, your life will never be the same. As your heart is shaped by his word, you will be transformed into his image from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3.18).
