Why Do I Read So Fast?
I had woken up on a slow Friday morning to read my Bible. I moved through my daily reading with striking speed. My mind went to my desire to check my text messages, see if the school had emailed me back, and if I should check the metrics of Weapons of Grace.
One evening I sat down at my desk, the rain was falling outside and I could hear it on the window. When I opened my laptop to read an article I had saved for later I noticed how fast I was trying to read it. Why was I trying to read so fast and has this ruined my Bible reading?
Why we read fast
There has been a lot of research on how technology has trained our brains in recent years, but i’ll offer some of my own thoughts. Think about how you interact with the media on your phone and computer? Is it fair to say that more than half of the media you consume is short form? Because of this we are being trained to “flick” from one piece of information/stimuli to another quite quickly.
Consider the sheer amount of information that is available to us? I have to quickly read A if I want to see what B has to offer. Long gone are the days of deep and slow reading. Meditation is a thing of the past. Why? Because we’ve been re-trained how to interact with written medium. To slow down feels painful and difficult. Like we are missing out on something if we do.
But perhaps we are missing out on something if we don’t.
Fast Reading ruins fellowship
How we approach reading our Bibles has implications for our fellowship with God. At least, it does for me. Fast reading leads to hurried fellowship. I notice I have to remind myself to slow down. That time with God is to be un-hurried. It feels counterintuitive, especially if I have things to get done that day. But 10 minutes spent un-hurried are more restful and meaningful than 15 spent hurried.
For me, this is one of the reasons prayer is so important before reading the Bible. I ask God to help me slow down. Because I can’t digest anything if I go fast. And if my propensity is to always rush through my time with God, which happens if I feel the need to read fast, that’s something I need to be aware of. It says I have misguided thoughts about what that time is actually supposed to be. As if it’s just something else to do.
It shows that I have misguided thoughts about communion with God. It shows that I don’t understand the sabbath principle.
Maybe God Just wants your attention
In his book, The Rest of God, Mark Buchanan writes about a story of a young man sitting in his office seeking advice about work.
“One day he said to me, “I know God is trying to get my attention. I just haven’t figured out yet what he wants my attention for. He must want me to do something.” I thought a moment. “Maybe,” I said, “That’s the problem: you think he wants your attention in order for you to do something. Maybe he just wants your attention. Indeed, this is the essence of a Sabbath Heart: paying attention.”
In our productivity saturated culture that is focused on efficiency and the next thing. Maybe your fellowship with God is the one place you don’t have to accomplish a thing? Maybe it’s the place of rest, of solace, of peace amidst the chaos of your life? To gain this benefit though, you must slow down.
Good Stewards notice implications
I don’t think we necessarily do these things intentionally. Again, our brains have been re-wired with the use of technology. But part of being a responsible Christian is to work to understand the implications of the things you use in your daily life and remedy them to the best of your abilities. If you eat too much sugar, a good steward notices the negative implications and cuts excess sugar out. If you spend too much money and live above your means, a good steward begins to implement a budget and lives below their means so that they can be wise and generous with their finances.
And if our technology use re-trains our brains, good Christian stewards will work to become aware of how they’ve been changed and institute ways to remedy that.
A remedy
This isn’t the remedy, but it is a remedy that has worked for me. Read less of the bible.
That sounds kind of wrong, doesn’t it? But I find that when I lesson the portion of scripture I am going to read in my quiet time, it’s easier to slow down. It’s easier to focus and actually meditate on the scripture. It’s easier to talk to God about what I am reading. It becomes less of a task to accomplish and more a retreat to enjoy. Instead of trying to read 3 or even 1 chapter a day. Why not pick a passage of a few verses? Read it more than once and allow yourself some time to chew and pray.
Like all things in life, there is a balance to be had. But if you find yourself rushing in your time with God, consider the principle of less.
Slowing down with you,
Josh