The Dark Side of Bible Reading

An interesting blog post by Jeremy Berg at "Jesus Creed" here, called "The Dark Side of Bible Reading."

In it, he infers that many of the youth he works with, and many adults as well, read the Bible as if THEY were the central figure in the story. And their overwhelming concern was how the Bible applies "to me." Evidently, if the Bible passage does not apply "to me", it must mean nothing, and I can safely discard it as irrelevant to my own life.

Ouch!

Berg's conclusion/challenge:

Instead, I would like to offer a different posture toward God's Word. In fact, it's the very opposite approach.

1. First, let's humbly approach God's Word as we would approach God himself. Let's reverently bow in awe and listen intently to what he is actually saying to us.
2. Instead of "applying the Bible to our lives" (which again assumes we are the fixed center point and the Word is just a holy ointment to be applied to our souls) let's instead try to "apply ourselves to the Bible." Put narratively, let's not let give God a convenient place within our own story; but rather find ourselves swept up in God's much larger Story!
3. Instead of bringing all of our concerns to the text and forcing it to speak to them, let's instead let God's concerns invite us out of our (relatively) petty preoccupations and into the realm of heavenly realities. "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things" (Col 3:2). Or, as The Message Bible puts it: "Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ--that's where the action is. See things from his perspective." When we get a glimpse of "God reality" all of our own earthly concerns are seen in a new light.
4. Finally, personal application must come only AFTER one has given God's Word a fair hearing. Let God lead the conversation where He so desires. When we're done letting God's Word speak then we can ask the Spirit to give us a personal assignment in response to God's challenge.

I'm sure there is a better way to say all of this. But I hope you see my point. Now I wonder what you all think.

I really like these suggestions. What do you think? [SDG- JS]