Have we reserved lengthy bible reading to only ministers now? (Image courtesy of pixabay.com)
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In my “office,” which is a public place, I am here frequently doing my devotions and reading my bible along with journaling. As I have been here often over the past many months, I’ve begun to see the same people in here, regularly. One sweet older woman, whom I’ve seen many times, came to me recently and said, “Excuse me…are you a pastor because I see you reading your bible a lot whenever I’m here…?” Now, she was absolutely genuine with her question and we had a somewhat profound conversation about suffering in this world and were able to encourage each other through our prospective trials.
Now, here I am a few weeks removed from the conversation and I had an idea strike me: “Why is it that she thinks I am a pastor simply because I am reading my bible?” Does she think that it’s rather bold to be reading one’s bible in a public place, and thus she assumes, “Oh, he must be a pastor because no regular Christian would be that bold!”? Or, does she think that because she has frequently seen me reading my bible that she says to herself, “Oh, he must be a pastor because he’s reading his bible A LOT!”? Do those that are not pastors, but simply “everyday Christians” (which ALL pastors are “ordinary Christians,” regardless of what others think!), not read their bible that much? Is it so rare to find any Christian openly, and frequently, reading her bible that we are thinking that, “Oh, only pastors do that!”? Do you see the assumption behind this statement? Have we so lowered the bar of Christianity spirituality in America that we’ve now rendered frequent bible reading as “rare” and only for those who are “the professional Christians” (pastor!)? I think that her statement is quite telling and is saying a whole lot more than she realizes. What do you think?
YOUR TURN! (I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts in the “Comment” section below!)
1. What do you think of my story above and the woman’s comments? Have we become so cold with our Christianity in America that only those that are “pastors” actually read their bible publicly and frequently, or am I reading too much into her comments?