6 Reasons Why We Neglect Our Bible

How often do you read your Bible? When was the last time you actually studied a specific topic from the Bible on your own?
Do you faithfully mediate on God’s word on a daily basis – or do you struggle to read even a single chapter?

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

The word of God is basically food for your spirit. Your spirit cannot be healthy without a consistent intake of God’s word. It is through God’s word that you can be effective, edified and equipped for righteousness. This is why the Bible says that we should meditate on God’s word “day and night”.

If you are struggling to read the Bible, there are many different reasons why you may be struggling to read God’s word – and these struggles are very common among many people.

Below are a few reasons why we neglect to read our Bible:-

1. We Are Lazy To Read The Bible
2. We Claim That We Don’t Have Time
3. We Think Bible Reading During Church Is Adequate
4. We Have Replaced Bible Reading For The Pastor’s Sermons
5. We Find It Irrelevant To Our Life & Situation
6. We Are Succumbing To Spiritual Warfare

1. We Are Lazy To Read The Bible

Let’s be honest. Some of us cannot reading the Bible for more than 10 minutes. We could probably read our Facebook / social media pages for hours or read an entire celebrity story on the internet, but yet we just become lazy when it comes to reading at least one chapter in the Bible. We need to cultivate a culture of self discipline & motivation if we are to overcome laziness and faithfully study God’s word.
Joshua 1:8 ESV – This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

2. We Claim That We Don’t Have Time

We all know that there are 24 hours in a day. Yet in those 24 hours, we will probably find time to engage in sometimes unproductive activities like watch the television, gossip with friends, visit the social media apps on our cellphones and still fail to find at least 15 minutes within that day to read & meditate on God’s word. The truth is, we can always have time to read the Bible. The question is whether we have chosen God’s word to become a priority in our daily life. Within 24 hours, try to find at least 30 minutes a day to read, study & meditate on God’s word.
Psalms 1:1-2 ESV – Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.

3. We Have Replaced Bible Reading For The Pastor’s Sermons

Do you prefer to be “spoon-fed” by a preacher’s sermons instead of actually studying the scriptures for yourself? Is the temptation of listening to DVD / audio sermons & tele-evangelists greater than the idea of doing a personal study of the word of God? Is listening to a pastor’s sermon and reading the Bible one in the same thing? NO it’s not!
People who do not regularly study the Bible for themselves are more susceptible to false indoctrination and to follow false preachers. It’s therefore important to always verify for yourself through the Bible everything you hear from a preacher’s sermon.
Acts 17:11 ESV –Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
A person should not live according to the standard of a preacher’s sermon, but he/she should live according to the standard of God’s word (the Bible).
But He (Jesus) answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” – Matthew 4:4 ESV
According to Jesus, a person must live on EVERY WORD that proceeds FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.
Therefore, you cannot live on the word that proceeds from your pastor’s mouth alone. You cannot live on the word that proceeds from the mouths of politicians alone. You cannot live from the things that fill your physical desires alone.
You must live “by EVERY word that comes FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD”
Psalms 119:105 ESV – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

4. We Find The Bible Irrelevant To Our Life Situations

If we find the Bible to be irrelevant to our lives or a specific issue in our life it could be because of one or more of the following reasons:

1. We do not adequately know or understand what the scriptures exactly say about our life or our specific situation.
2. There is a specific sin in our lives which we do not want to repent of, and we do not want God’s word to rebuke us or correct us.
3. We would rather find unbiblical solutions for the issues in our life.

Hebrews 4:12 ESV – For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Psalms 119:10,11 ESV – With my whole heart I seek You; let me not wander from Your commandments! I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

5. We Think Bible Reading During Church Is Adequate

Do you eat food once a week? Would it be adequate for your physical body if you only ate once a week? Perhaps you attend church every Sunday, and the only time you actually open your Bible is on Sunday during the sermon. God’s word is actually spiritual food for our spirit and therefore we need to edify ourselves with His word on a daily basis. Our motivation & desire for reading God’s word must always come from within our own heart and not because of a religious meeting. God’s word is meant to be meditated on a daily basis and not only during a church meeting.
1 Peter 2:2-3 ESV – Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation—  if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Job 23:12 ESV – I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food.

6. We Are Succumbing To The Enemy’s Spiritual Warfare Tactics

Ultimately, the devil does not want Christians to have knowledge and understanding of the scriptures. It’s through the Bible that we learn about God nature, God’s values, Man’s sinful nature & his need for God, and God’s redemption plan through Christ.
Matthew 13:18-19 ESV – Hear then the parable of the sower:  19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
The Bible is also the only offensive weapon in the Armour of God. God’s word is the sword of the Holy Spirit. The scriptures are therefore what every Christian uses in order to discern and overcome the temptations of enemy through Christ. You will discover that when Jesus was tempted by the devil, Jesus always used the Scriptures to overcome every temptation from the enemy.
The devil will therefore do what he can to ensure that you do not have knowledge or understanding of what God says in His word. At times, the devil will also distort the meaning or interpretation of the scriptures through the sermons of false preachers and the like.
2 Timothy 2:15 ESV – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Ephesians 6:17 ESV – And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Ephesians 6:11-12 ESV – Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Conclusion
Just as we cannot be physically healthy without eating the proper food and having the proper nutrition, our spirit man cannot be healthy and spiritually equipped if we do not feed daily on the word of God. God’s word edifies us and equips us for every good work in Christ.
If you haven’t been reading your Bible and mediating on God’s word on a daily basis – start TODAY.