We don’t do anything in life without motivation.
We mow the grass because we don’t want the neighbors calling the H.O.A. We take the car in for an oil change because we like having a car that runs. We exercise because we don’t want to be overweight.
The same is true of reading. The reason why many people don’t read books on a regular basis is just that they aren’t motivated to do so. They don’t see the benefit or use of reading. After all, life is so busy — family, work, church, other commitments — that reading seems like something that “less busy” people do. So, why should people make the time and take the effort to read books?
When was the last time you slowed down enough to fill up your soul with a good book?
1. Our souls don’t replenish themselves.
Reading is a way we can pour fresh life into our often-weary souls. John Piper was well aware of this when he wrote, “I, for one, am not a self-replenishing spring. My bucket leaks, even when it is not pouring. My spirit does not revive on the run. Without the time of unhurried reading and reflection, beyond the press of (life), my soul shrinks… Few things frighten me more than the beginnings of barrenness that come from frenzied activity with little spiritual food and meditation.” When was the last time you slowed down enough to fill up your soul with a good book?
2. Words change lives.
In God’s wisdom, He has designed words to inspire, create, and reveal ideas that revolutionize life as we know it. Books do not change lives, ideas do. And ideas flow from well-ordered, sequenced words. Have you ever stopped to consider the Bible itself is a deposit of words that reveal glorious realities about eternity, death, heaven, hell, life, and God Himself? And while there is no other book divinely inspired like the Bible, all books contain ideas that can be life-shaping, even life-altering, when reading in light of The Book. How many life-altering ideas are left unfound simply because we don’t read?
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once remarked that reading is a fight for one’s life. He’s right. If we are to be growing, flourishing people that impact others we must read books — our souls depend on it. So, pick up a book, put down the phone, and read.