There’s a passage in Mark’s gospel that I think about almost every day. If you’ve been a Christ-follower for long, you probably know it well. One of the scribes approached Jesus and asked which of the commands was the most important. Jesus answered, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).
We could spend weeks, months, or even years dissecting these verses. Undoubtedly, it will take a lifetime for us to learn to live them. But for now, I want to focus on a portion of what it means to love God with our minds.
The primary way we as believers love God with our minds is through the study of Scripture. It’s impossible to grow in our understanding of God apart from His Word. Not long ago, a woman told me that she considers herself to be a Christian but has no desire to read the Bible—she doesn’t see the point. I tried my best to explain that she was missing out on the greatest endeavor of her life. That’s a hill I’ll die on. And yet, research reports that Bible reading in America has dropped to unprecedented lows.[1]
But it’s not just Christians who are reading less, reading is down across the board. Recently, The Washington Post reported that 46 percent of Americans read no books in 2023, and 5 percent read just one.[2] You’re among the top half of American adults if you read more than two books per year. Stats like these call to mind the book Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. The book was published in 1985 and it was far ahead of its time. In the book, Postman recalls predictions by authors George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. Orwell feared books would be banned. Huxley feared there would be no reason to ban books because there would be no one who wanted to read them.[3]
Part of the decline in reading is undoubtedly due to digital technology and the mediums in which people access forms of communication. To be sure, there are plenty of excellent podcasts to listen to and alternative ways to gather information. But, some of us have reduced or even quit reading because our attention spans are fragmented from the onslaught of information coming at us. For Christians, that’s not only a personal problem—it’s a spiritual one.
If you’re trying to find your way back to reading, here are 4 suggestions that might help.
- Keep a notebook. A few years ago, I started writing down notable quotes, phrases, and ideas that stood out to me when I was reading.I go back to that notebook regularly. I’ve found that my favorite ideas and thought-provoking information mainly come from reading, and my best sources are almost always books. That motivates me to keep at it. I’ve come to treasure that notebook and feel like it’s a win every time I find something new to include in it.
- Read Outside Your Norm. There’s nothing wrong with reading for entertainment—I do it all the time. But it’s beneficial to read outside your comfort zone, especially when you’re reading non-fiction. Why? When we limit ourselves to reading authors we already agree with, we aren’t expanding our minds. It’s the easiest thing in the world to surround ourselves with people who think, vote, believe, and see the world exactly as we do. But when we only read authors we agree with, we just put ourselves in an echo chamber of the same thoughts and ideas. We don’t gain any new perspective. If we are going to expand our minds, we’ll have to read some authors who challenge our beliefs. They may or may not change our minds, but at least we’ll come away with a better understanding of where they are coming from, and we might learn that we share more common ground than we thought.
- Set a Reading Goal. I don’t know about you, but if I’m not intentional about determining what I want to accomplish—it probably won’t happen. I do not thrive under rigid rules, but setting a goal that feels slightly out of reach motivates me. If you aren’t reading at all right now, start small. Commit to reading ten minutes a day. If you’re reading two books a month—shoot for three.
- Abandon Books You Aren’t Enjoying. As I write this, I am 51 years old. If I live an average lifespan of 79 years, I’ve got 28 years left on this planet. If I read 50 books a year, that means I might have the opportunity to read approximately 1,400 more books. That’s far less than I want to, so I better choose wisely. With that in mind, if the author doesn’t grab my full attention in the first 50 pages, I move on. My TBR list is too long not to. Don’t be afraid to abandon a book you aren’t enjoying—there are plenty of choices out there.
None of us want to come to the end of our lives and wish we would have done things differently. No one will say on their deathbed, “I wish I would have scrolled more and read less.” So, let’s live with intentionality and love God with all of our minds. That means reading the Bible and it means reading great books. A literate culture is a better place to live. I’ll leave you with a quote from Mark Twain, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” Happy reading to you!
[1] https://www.denisonforum.org/biblical-living/bible-reading-unprecedented-low-america/.
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/05/how-many-books-did-you-read-2023-see-how-you-stack-up.
[3] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, (New York: Penguin books, 1986).
