Can You Live Without Your Bible?
Sam Rainer
One of my biggest pet peeves as a pastor is the number of people that do not bring their Bibles to church. Every time I preach I begin by asking the congregation to open their Bibles to a particular passage. I then follow with, “And that is on page 707 in your pew Bibles.” Even then, only a handful of folks will reach for the Bible in front of them.
Of course, I can always count on a cell phone blaring the popular song of the moment at least once a month. It seems that people have their phones attached to the hip (some literally), yet they cannot muster the effort to bring to church the dusty black leather book sitting lonely on the shelf at home. Clearly, many can live without their Bibles. Most everyone, me included, must have their cell phones attached to them at all times.
So what items top the list with Americans as the most necessary? The Pew Research Center reveals this list in their social trends report. Below are the top twelve most indispensable items and the percentage of those who ranked them as a necessity.
1. Car 91%
2. Clothes washer 90%
3. Clothes dryer 83%
4. Home air conditioning 78%
5. Microwave 68%
6. TV 64%
7. Car air conditioning 59%
8. Home computer 51%
9. Cell phone 49%
10. Dishwasher 35%
11. Cable or satellite TV 33%
12. High-speed Internet 29%
The Pew survey asked the survey participants about consumer products that are designed to make life more productive, more convenient, more comfortable, and more efficient. I feel for those that state high-speed Internet is a necessity. Dial-up can be downright painful. But I just wonder how many of these people would say that the Bible is an absolute necessity. Or how many would say that a day without studying their Bibles is downright painful. I think we all too easily forget that we treasure God’s Word in our hearts so that we don’t sin against Him. Think about that the next time you sign on to the Internet.
While I affirm your words, I really have to admit that those items you listed are sometimes a higher priority for me than my own Bible. Shame on me.
This reminds me of a recent application that I filled out. In the application, I was asked to allocate how many hours per week I spent on various activities. The activities ranged from watching TV, studying, reading, and exercising to reading the Bible, praying, and sharing God’s Word. Needless to say, my hours were not in proper balance. It was good for me to realize this because I was almost to the point where I was living without my Bible.
kdb1411 and willy2binNC, I too have been just as guilty about my Bible. I have packed for trips where I racked my brain about anything that I might have forgotten, only to find that it was my Bible that I forgot to throw into my suitcase.
Amen and amen!