No doubt you’re at least vaguely familiar with the popular book series called “The Hunger Games Trilogy”. One movie, The Hunger Games, has already been released, with the remaining still TBR. It’s been a tween phenomenon! Not exactly Harry Potter level, but mighty close. No doubt part of the reason is because it is such a captivating read, and once you start flipping pages, you just can’t seem to stop. At least, that was the case when I started reading it. I didn’t want to put it (the entire trilogy!) down for a whole week! I was entranced by this fictional story, as thousands upon thousands of others have been.
What’s shameful is that this isn’t the way I, nor my entire generation really, approaches Scripture. Sure, we can get caught up in all kinds of fads and book series and movies (Harry Potter, Twilight, Divergent, etc), but it’s extremely difficult to get us to read the Bible, or at least to feel as passionately about it as we do our favorite fictional find. It’s especially shameful when we consider passages such as Matthew 4:4 in which Jesus tells us that man shall not live by bread (food sustenance) alone, but by the Word of God.
This past week, I finished off a book in one of these captivating trilogies.However, I noticed that instead of getting caught up in a series like the Hunger Games, I/we should be focusing on Scripture, which is the only thing which will never pass away (Luke 21:33). The word of God, it should be what takes over our minds and makes us long to read more…since we know these powerful things about it:
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” John 12:48
It’s time we get serious about the Word of God–as serious as we do about the fictional books we read! Just do a Pinterest search, and you’ll see people get pretty serious about their books! And yet, ought we not be MORE serious about the word of God than some man-concocted piece of fiction?
Now, let me hasten to say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with reading wholesome fictional books. But, when we desire to read them more than we desire to read God’s words, that’s when it becomes a problem. 1 Peter 2:2 tells us that we should desire the word of God like a newborn desires milk. While I am not a parent, I do know a thing or two about babies and their milk-lust. Once they get that in their mind, that’s all they want! When was the last time you felt like that about opening God’s word? When is the last time I felt like that about opening God’s word?! Matthew 5:6 tells us something vitally important about life, and it’s this verse that I hope all of us will focus on for (at least) the remainder of the week:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,For they shall be filled.”
When we see these words ‘hunger and thirst’, we shouldn’t think in the American sense of the words. When Americans are hungry, we’re actually just beginning to feel discomfort because we haven’t eaten in what….3 hours? The words which are used here refer to something much more than just discomfort. It’s being famished. It’s longing for food and drink, desiring earnestly food and drink…looking for some sort of relief. And righteousness? It means justification, innocence, and godliness. Spoiler alert: the only place you can find those things is in Scripture. No where else can we find justification except through the word of God–which points us to Jesus the Christ.
When we will start hungering and thirsting after righteousness, Jesus says we will be filled. We will be satisfied. The problem is, if we’re hungering or thirsting after something other than the Word of God, we won’t ever be filled–we won’t ever be satisfied. Only God can provide us with the true, spiritual nourishment that we need.
This quarter, in the teenage girls Bible class that I (try to) teach, we are embarking on a quest called the real hunger games.We’re taking Matthew 5:6 and using that framework and mindset to help us in studying, memorizing, and learning to love God’s word through a series of fun, educational games. It is my prayer that these girls will come away with a knowledge of God and a love for learning about Him that will be even more beneficial than just cramming truths down their throats week after week. After all, you can’t make someone hunger and thirst; that’s a personal feeling.
This week, do your best to satisfy the God-shaped hole inside of you….the hole that cannot be filled with anything other than righteousness. No Divergent series or Hunger Games Trilogy is going to quench your thirst–only God and His beautiful, powerful, life-giving Word. And know that it will be a difficult task–training our appetites toward righteousness–but a task that will be worth it when God says, “well done!”.
Lauren
October 28, 2013 at 11:36 amIn defense of our generation, The Bible is not designed the same way as fiction. It is not entertainment and it IS difficult to read and there are some passages that are very hard to understand. The Bible can sound archiac, even with modern translations. And with modern translations you have to be very careful to get accurate interpretations. It is not written in the most exciting of fashions.
Commercial fiction writing’s sole purpose is entertainment and is designed to keep you enthralled, to keep you wanting to turn the page over and over and over. They all have a “hook” at the opening, to make the reader interested. And if the writer does their job properly, you get sucked into the world they created. And don’t let go until the very end and sometimes not even then if the story is powerful enough. They keep you wanting to go back to the world and the story two times, ten times, a hundred or more times. That’s how stories survive and brand/character loyalty is built. Readers get their favorites and want to see what happens to them over and over again.
That said, I REALLY struggle with this issue. I constantly keep thinking “I need to read the Bible, I haven’t read it today yet,” and the inevitable response my brain usually gives me, “Oh not that again, there are a thousand and one other books in the house I can read easier.” Or, “I’ve been studying this for years and years, I know it all already, what’s the point,” or “That’s boring, I would rather do something more fun.” I’m unfortunately normally giving into this side of ‘oh that’s boring, I want to do something fun’.
This is the Devil’s way of distracting us from God. And unfortunately, too often, it works. That said, I agree there’s nothing at all wrong with reading fiction. I’m writing it after all. ;) But there needs to be a balance and we need to remember to put God first and not last when it comes to our choices of activities. Also, it is the quality, not the quantity I think of our meditation and reading that counts. A few minutes of skimming every hour on the hour trying to be like the newborn babies mentioned in 1 Peter is not the same as spending a quality hour ‘searching the Scriptures daily to find out whether things are so.’ And it IS possible to get just as absorbed reading the Bible as it is commercial fiction. Whenever I’m having trouble with this problem, I normally go to my favorite stories. Abraham, Jacob, Hannah, King David, etc.
I’m working on doing better. I have some dear friends who are helping study with me and studying with more than one person is always helpful and gives me the accountability I need.
I think if we had more accountability between ourselves as other Christians and checked in with each other more than we do, we’d find more of us having these issues than we’re willing to admit. We know Jesus died for us and that we’re not perfect, but we don’t like admitting specific things we have problems with. We tend to have an I don’t want you butting in’, or ‘I bet nobody else struggles with this problem. I must be a horrible Christian. I can’t tell anybody,’ mentality. If we were more open with each other, I bet we’d struggle less.
Just some food for thought. :) Thanks for the article, I enjoyed it! :)
Emily Nelson
November 5, 2013 at 9:16 amI loved this and needed this! You are so awesome, and so inspiring, every single day. I love you and your incredible heart!!!