There’s a right way to perform certain exercises, to hold a golf club, or even to play piano – but that’s not always how we do it. Maybe we were self-taught and never thoroughly trained in the proper technique. Maybe we grew lax as the moves became familiar, the weight we carried increased, or schedule demands limited our practice time. Gyms are full of mirrors to help weightlifters with this – but do we use them? To stay healthy and grow stronger, we must watch our form.
The Apostle Paul coached Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15 ESV). Timothy had been acquainted with the Scriptures from childhood, but he still couldn’t afford to get sloppy (cf. 2 Tim. 3:15). Throughout Paul’s ministry, he had preached to many who “read the Bible” and “gone to church” their whole lives. The difference between those who received Christ and those who angrily rejected Him was diligent study. “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
This wasn’t just study as an intellectual exercise, either: they were hearers and doers (cf. Jam. 1:22). Like a weightlifter in the gym, we must see ourselves reflected in the mirror of God’s word and adjust. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like” (Jam. 1:23-24). We should read the Bible truly seeking God and seeking to grow more into who He wants us to be. “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2).
That’s not always how we do Bible study, though. It can be easy for us to only read it to reinforce what we already think or do. Yet, God’s word is more than just a collection of “ready references” to prove our points. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). To experience the full benefit of God’s power in Scripture, we need to truly seek Him while examining ourselves.
So, watch your form. Spend regular time really studying the Bible. Seek God, allowing Him to comfort, convict, encourage, and correct you. Then act on it. “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (Jam. 1:25).