Not all roads lead to New York. If you are taking a road trip to a place you haven’t been (for me, that would be New York), you’re going to need a map. But if you don’t know how to read the map, you could end up in Canada or Alabama instead.
Not all pathways lead to heaven and, fortunately, God has given us a map: the Bible. Do you know how to read his map right so you don’t get off course? Here are eight dangerously common wrong ways to read the Bible.
Hi, I’m Lauren Thell, author of Christian YA fiction and blogger for teens who are ready to exceed the world’s expectations.
In This Article
Wrong Ways to Read the Bible—And the Correct Fixes
1) You’re reading for emotional reasons only.
Too often we go to the Bible only when we’re looking for something to help us feel better. We base our faith on feelings, thinking that faith and reason are at odds. But they aren’t.
Jesus said in Matthew 22:37, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” God wants your heart, but he also wants your mind because when you’re using your mind, you might be more open to hearing the things your heart doesn’t want to hear.
If this sounds like you: Check out my post Desiring God As the Ultimate Source of Pleasure.
2) You’re playing Bible roulette.
You’ve probably heard of Russian roulette, a lethal game of chance in which a revolver holding a single shot is passed amongst the players who each take a turn pulling the trigger. Bible roulette is equally lethal. This involves cracking your Bible open to a random page, letting your finger drop to a random verse, then assuming that verse is God’s answer to your question.
God doesn’t talk to us like that. He wants us to study his WHOLE word so that when we have a question, we can go directly to the answer.
If this sounds like you: Get motivated for regular Bible reading with Read Your Bible Every Day: A Feast For Your Soul.
3) You’re taking verses out of context.
In his book Don’t Waste Your Life (HIGHLY recommended, btw), John Piper states that “the verses of the Bible are not strung pearls but links in a chain.” With a string of pearls, you could remove one pearl and still have a necklace. But with a chain, you have to break it in order to remove a link.
Be careful about removing a single verse from a paragraph and hanging it on your wall without first considering the context it came from, because that could change its entire meaning. (Did you know that one of the most frequently incorrectly quoted verses is Philippians 4:13? I talk about it in my post Facing Failure: The Bottom Line of Philippians 4:13).
If this sounds like you: You can find lists of Bible passages about specific topics in my Bible Resource Section
4) You read your Bible only occasionally, or not at all.
If I brushed my teeth only occasionally, or not at all, I’d eventually have to pay a high price, namely, the loss of my teeth. (Not to mention chronic bad breath and sore gums—ick!) You can’t expect to keep your faith alive and well if you aren’t cracking your Bible EVERY DAY and listening to what God has to say to you.
If this sounds like you: See my post Help for Teens Who Struggle to Make Bible Reading a Daily Habit.
5) You’re not studying what you read.
I’m not a Bible scholar. But I know someone who is and I call him by the title of Pastor. And even though I’ve been reading my Bible for decades, I still find myself learning new things about it every week at the Bible study he leads.
This is why I’m always skeptical about people who call themselves Christian but don’t go to church. Do they really understand what they’re reading (if they’re reading at all)?
Please go to church, but don’t stop there. Go to regular Bible studies and check out books written by real Bible experts. (Always do your research on the experts first. Lots of dangerous ideas about the Bible have been put into print.)
If this sounds like you: Trouble Understanding the Bible? Time to Get Help!
6) You’re not meditating on what you read.
Reading your Bible as if it were a chore to check off on your daily to-do list will not accomplish its purpose, which is to saturate your heart and mind with God’s word. To do that, you need to consciously think about and internalize what you have read, also known as meditation.
Choose a time of day when your brain is wide awake and take a smaller section of scripture so that you can soak it in. I’ve even heard of people journaling about what they read. Let it water your soul.
If this sounds like you: It’s time to Give Yourself the Silent Treatment.
7) You’re reading the wrong translation.
The King James Version is a wonderful translation but, for me, the Old English that it uses is just as easy to understand as Latin. Likewise, just because a translation is in modern English doesn’t mean that the wording can’t be misleading. Do your homework when choosing a translation. Your church is a good place to start as they probably have a preferred translation.
If this sounds like you: check out these Bible Translation Resources from Wels.net.
[FYI: For this website, I use the New International Version (NIV) for most of my scripture quotes because it’s quite popular, but I occasionally turn to the English Heritage Version (EHV) for verses that need better clarity.]
8) You’re missing the big picture.
Among the wrong ways to read the Bible, this is a big one. The Bible is the story of God’s love for you. Everything that happens between the pages is meant to show his undying love for his people. Keep that in the forefront of your mind every time you read it!
If this sounds like you: How to Really, Truly Know God Loves You
More Resources
I won’t deny it, the Bible can be a tricky piece of literature to navigate. For help on this: Trouble Navigating the Bible? Try These Helpful Tricks.
You don’t have to have all the answers.
but, hey, why not?
Bring me your questions about faith, life, God, the Bible… and I’ll help you find the answers.