Last night as I was driving home from Pop-Pop's house I was thinking about discipline and reading the Bible. A friend of mine asked me the other day how I keep my relationship with God going. I think she was hoping to hear more than she did because I didn't offer much. Here it is…I'm not really good at the discipline of reading my Bible everyday. So last night I'm thinking back through this conversation with my friend and I'm rationalizing why I don't read my Bible everyday.
ra⋅tion⋅al⋅ize
ˈræʃ
ənlˌaɪz,ˈræʃnlˌaɪzShow Spelled Pronunciation [rash-uh-nl-ahyz, rash-nl-ahyz] 
Show IPA verb, -ized, -iz⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | to ascribe (one's acts, opinions, etc.) to causes that superficially seem reasonable and valid but that actually are unrelated to the true, possibly unconscious and often less creditable or agreeable causes. |
As you can see from the definition, maybe not so good.
In the rationalizing my thought process says that I will read my Bible when I feel like it. Like I should only read it because it's in my heart to do so, otherwise it's a waste of time and it never really speaks to me. What?! This is clearly a lie that I've been believing. One, it makes light of the power of the Word and of our God. Two, it's a copout and an excuse for laziness.
I got to thinking about a scenario where I gain 10 lbs. I want to lose weight. Do I wait until I feel like not eating ice cream to stop? Do I wait until I feel like running a few miles? No. Goal: to lose 10 lbs., therefore what must happen? I must stop eating ice cream and I must go running, even when I don't want to. Because (and here is the big "ah hah!") I want to be thinner more than I want to eat the ice cream and sit on my couch and do nothing.
This, then, led to me asking myself what my spiritual goal was. My goal? To know Christ intimately and have my entire life be centered around Him and for Him; nothing else. So…I ask myself, "Kathryn, does it, then, make sense to be waiting to feel like diving into your Bible?" No, I'm thinking not. So I'm thinking, there's my goal out in front, what do I do to get to my goal. Just like the weight-loss goal, only way more important! J
1 comment:
I’ve been thinking on this lately as well! For many years now I turned my back to discipline for it had become more about legalism than devotion, but now I’m beginning to see how important it is in maintaining relationship with my God! Thanks for sharing, Kat – I’m on this journey with you!
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