Is some bible better than none? Well, I guess so. But let me ask that another way. If you are reading one bible verse a day as “devotional” reading, are you reading a healthy amount of the bible? I don’t think we could agree to that. So, no. To turn a common aphorism upsideround, ‘a verse a day keeps the bible at bay.’
Sure, there is something good about reading the bible, no matter how little. I should also think we ought to be incredibly grateful for every part of scripture and the treasure and gem every single verse is. They are the words of God for nourishing our souls and guiding our path.
However, with all of God’s word available to us, how could we say we treasure God’s word but in practice read a mere paltry amount of it (proportionally speaking) and with respect and consideration for our time and capacity? Our actions speak for us in this regard. I raise this because I’ve sometimes heard this sentiment spoken, and also because I’ve noticed this at times with my own behaviour (especially as I think about my ‘screen time’ habits).
I want us to push back against a world that tempts us to be so busy that we feel we can’t make time for the treasure of God’s word, but we can make time for YouTube (and other new media). Is this comparison not enough to show us how much of a spiritual battle life is? I think so. I think about my own habits. I’ve consistently spent time watching YouTube out of habit and because others are actively seeking to engage me on their mediums. It’s not a neutral environment where I can just as easily choose to do this or that thing. Rather, there are forces/companies/people/spiritual powers at work with agendas. Media has an agenda, your work has an agenda, the economic marketplace has an agenda, the devil has an agenda, and God has an agenda. Having the wisdom to discern our actions in a world that is seeking to pull us in many directions is an essential skill. This is especially true as the world around us becomes much more complex, subtle and perhaps even insidious in regard to spiritual matters.
In the battle to honour God and live for him, let us consider it a loss (not a win) when we read a verse a day. This kind of thinking is more a symptom of worldliness than anything else in my opinion. The bare minimum regarding spiritual matters sounds exactly like a ploy and outworking of the strategies of a world seeking your affections. To pull you away from God and toward itself.
I’d imagine the attention economy would not be satisfied with you saying to them, “well at least I read your headline, or watched the first 30 seconds”. No. they are not satisfied until you spend all your attention on their products. But in kind, they would be very happy if you said of God, “at least I gave him a little bit of time.”
It can be very easy to succumb to worldly practices with our spiritual disciplines.
What we can’t do is give up. The world fights for our attention relentlessly because we are a product. But God is not like that. He dies for us out of love. While we are coerced by worldly manipulations for the bottom-line, God instead woos us into an affectionate response to Him (at least in part). There is a world of difference between those who see us as products or consumers, and the one who sees us as an object of His love. Our response should be in kind.
Our contentment with a verse a day is an outworking of our affection. Sure, there are seasons of struggle. I want to say that’s different from habitual lacklustre efforts to love God. We can foster greater love for God. We don’t (nor should) wait until we ‘feel it’ to start spending more time with God in his word, in prayer, and with His people. We start with action, and over time we will more and more ‘feel it.’
But for now, maybe a good motivation to fight back (at least from this boyish writers opinion) is to recognise that the world wants your attention. With a little of the famed ‘reverse psychology’ or childish combativeness we dislike seeing in others, we could be motivated to contrarian engagement with the attention economy. Instead, giving greater attention and time to God and his word.
Bigvai and Shiphrah 