What comes to mind when I say the word BOOK? Boredom? School? Cozy evenings of adventure?
I have observed that books are about as loved and hated as a political party. Some people swear by them. They would pick a book over just about anything else. However, others would never dream of going near one. Some people just really don’t like books. They find them boring compared the many other interesting forms of entertainment out there.
When I was growing up, I wanted to like books. I loved adventures and stories, and books were a great way to find those things. However, it turned out that I was a horrible reader. I was so bad that my parents had be tested for learning disabilities. By the time I was a teenager, I had this love-hate relationship with them because I wanted to like them but actually did not.
Even though I am still not a good reader, I stubbornly persisted to the point where books have become a regular part of my life. A large part of this is because of text-to-speech from my beloved Kindle reader and audiobooks from the library, Christian Audio, and Audible. However, there is one other strategy that has helped me that I want to share: that is the power of reading a little each day.
Each night, before I go to sleep, I open up a theological book that I would not normally select for “pleasure” reading. I set a timer and read it for about 10 or 15 minutes. When the timer is done, I set the book down. After one day, I have not read much – only a couple of pages – but after a month or two, I have finished the book. That’s the power of reading a little each day!
After one day, I have not read much – only a couple of pages – but after a month or two, I have finished the book. That’s the power of reading a little each day!
Let me show you the math: Knowing God by J.I. Packer is 288 pages. If you read 10-15 minutes a day, you will easily knock out 5 pages (probably more). At five pages a day, you will finish the book in just under two months. How cool is that! A deep, somewhat dry, but powerful book that you might not normally pick up could be finished in two months. If you repeat that you could finish two of these types of books by the end of 2020.
This year, I have read several theological classics that I would not normally have sat down to read. All by reading 15 minutes each day. These books include Teaching That Changes Lives by Howard Hendricks, Knowing God, The Mortification of Sin by John Owen, and I am almost done with The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs.
Books are so important! They stretch your thinking, challenge you, and can impact your life far more than television or Facebook can. Yet our generation is getting more accustomed to neglecting reading. This is bad! I challenge you to give this a try. It doesn’t have to be a puritan classic. Pick up a more contemporary book by Randy Alcorn, John Piper, or Timothy Keller. Read a little each day and see how they may impact you over time.