Another Benefit to Reading the Bible

When I wrote Simple Things to Make This World a Better Place, I was totally astounded by some of the wisdom in the Bible to support random acts of kindness and how best to live our lives. It probably shouldn't have surprised me to discover approbation of actions that I didn't even realize were in the Bible such as making monetary loans without charging interest, or providing instructions to gain resolution in a conflict.

Now that I've read the Old Testament three times, the New Testament four times, and Proverbs and Psalms twice, I realize how much I still don't know. Every reading leads to something I missed before.

So how did I read the entire Bible, and especially, how did I begin? It was simple. I just bought one of the read-the-Bible-in-a-year books. After the first time through it, I was ready to read the Bible on my own using the version most utilized by my denomination.

But since I'm an avid reader, I also wanted to still read a variety of other books in myriad genres. That opened my eyes to the possibility of reading two or more books at the same time. It wasn't confusing, as I had thought it might be, to read the Bible and something else. Now, reading two or three books at the same time is what I normally do, but I never would have attempted to do so without first reading the Bible along with those other books.

Being able to read two or three books at the same time was once unfathomable to me. Of course, during school years, we all do that with text books and different courses, but keeping characters and plots separate was different, or so I thought. Thanks to my first reading of the Bible each day, I realized that it is possible to distinguish between different books that are read at the same time. I liken it to watching different TV shows. Sometimes I like comedy, and sometimes I like drama. The same is true with books. Sometimes I want to learn something, and sometimes I just want to be entertained.

I do realize, regardless of whatever I choose to read, it is a gift. It is a gift to read the Bible with all of its wisdom because it is my guide for living a better life. But it's also a gift to read for enjoyment. Literacy is one of those things most of us take for granted unless you might happen to be a writer like I am. Most writers love words and it doesn't matter if we are the ones to write them or to read them.