A friend and mentor asked me last week how I was going with reading the Bible. I responded that I’ve been disciplined with it my whole adult life to which he replied, “That’s nice that it’s a discipline but are you growing in your love for it?” Do you love the Bible? Now that’s a different question.

Psalm 119:97 says, “O how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” You can see here that the writer had a daily rhythm of Scripture and a love for Scripture. The question is which came first? Was it the discipline or the desire?

I’m a big fan of disciplines. I read James Clear’s Atomic Habits over the summer and it’s been really helpful for me to make rhythms of the things that matter to make sure they happen. Jesus too was a man of discipline. Attending festivals and synagogue and withdrawing to lonely places to pray were habits that he had.

Habits, then, are valuable. For example, I would imagine most of us love cake but only because we’ve actually eaten cake. After all, you cannot love what you’ve never tasted. As I’ve read Scripture over and over, I’ve had moments of wonder as I see something new of God; moments of challenge as I see something new in me. I have found how much the Holy Spirit has been able to bring to mind just the right verse for just the right moment. I love it because I’ve tasted it.

It’s not about whether habits are good or bad but understanding that they’re a means to an end. Jenny and I have had a date night almost every week of our marriage. It’s been an important discipline but we don’t do it for the sake of the discipline. We do it because it helps us cultivate and maintain a love for one another. We celebrate the discipline only because it helps produce a desirable outcome.

Can I suggest it’s the same with Scripture. If you’re not sure if you love it, can I ask if you’ve got a habit of reading it? If not, today’s a great time to start. Start with little and often and go from there. Buddy up with someone else to keep accountable.

If there’s lots of discipline but no love, can I encourage you to change it up? Recently I started reading less every day but making time to journal and write out a prayer of response. It’s amazing how much this little change made the words really resonate in my life.

Let us be disciplined readers of the word so that we may learn to love the word.

Simon

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Which comes first: Discipline or desire?