Bible Reading

Dear Victorious,

I've heard that the Bible is the best selling book of all time. But it seems that nobody reads their Bibles. Why don't people read their Bibles?

Charla A. - Waukesha, WI

Dear Charla,

I've heard that statistic too ... that the Bible is the best selling book of all time. I believe it too. It is the most important book ever written. Consider who inspired it and who authored it. So people buy it because it is the most important book they could own.

So why don't they read it? I believe the reason is simply because they don't see the point. People have been told that the Bible contains timeless treasures, speaks to us, inspires us, solves all of life's problems, etc. And those beliefs are probably what inspires us to buy a Bible for ourselves. However, if we haven't experienced any of those benefits, then we may not see the point in reading our Bible. The benefits of Bible reading may seem so abstract as to not look real to us.

I suspect that most Bibles are purchased by someone to be given to someone else. My thirteen year old son, for example, has at least ten Bibles already. He hasn't purchased a single one of them. All have been gifts from well intentioned individuals and organizations. While the boy is a voracious reader, he doesn't read any of those Bibles on his shelf, because at thirteen, he doesn't see the point.

Dynamics like this make the Bible the best selling book of all time --- and most copies that are sold don't get read.