A Misused Book

The Bible is a book often misused.  I have heard of a preacher or two who have used it as a magical sermon starter on Sunday morning as they opened it up on the pulpit and put their finger on the verse for the day.  And, of course, most anyone can go to the Scripture with an idea and find a verse which gives their idea divine authority.  Someone could go to the verse where David smite Goliath and decide that God wants us to kill our enemies instead of loving them. 

 

And while it may be a trade secret kept from the laity, it is tempting for any preacher to use the Bible only as something for preaching purposes instead of something for personal spiritual growth.  It would seem that any preacher would be a real student of the Scripture, but it is far too easy to simply turn to it for preaching purposes.  Such is as much a misuse of the Word as deciding that killing an enemy is a good thing with God.  It is always wise to be asking ourselves why we are reading the Word.  We may be doing a good thing for the wrong reasons.

 

There are many good reasons for reading the Word.  To be immersed in the Word of God speaks of a heart hungry for God and His ways.  To be immersed in the Word speaks of a believer who desires for life to be lived according to the will of the Father who brought us into being.  To be immersed in the Word speaks of a soul longing to sit in the presence of the Holy One and to hear whatever it is that might be heard from His Holy Spirit.  When we use our reading of the Word to point others toward our reading accomplishments instead of the One whose name is on every page, we have missed the point of opening the book and we might want to close and start again praying for a new and right spirit.