There is no magic trick to reading more; you just have to make time. But, you would be surprised how much reading you can accomplish by being intentional about reading. Don't get into the mindset that you need a soft leather chair in the corner of an elegant home library that smells of old books, leather, and pipe tobacco in order to be a "reader". For example, a few years ago, I read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy on my breaks at work - about 7 minutes a pop. I read one of John Owen's works entirely on the Kindle app on my phone. Any time you have a few minutes, you can read a page or two, if you are prepared and have something to read. When you are going to the doctor, take a book. Instead of staring at the wall or reading a 3 year old Popular Mechanics magazine, you could use the time wisely.
Or, waking up 15 minutes earlier every day with the dedicated purpose of reading a book that you have always wanted to work through is an exercise well worth the time and effort. Not a morning person? Stay up 15 minutes later - you get the idea. You don't need hours to read more, you just need to do it.
Or, waking up 15 minutes earlier every day with the dedicated purpose of reading a book that you have always wanted to work through is an exercise well worth the time and effort. Not a morning person? Stay up 15 minutes later - you get the idea. You don't need hours to read more, you just need to do it.
You can read a lot in just a few minutes a day. John Piper does the math:
Now, I know what you are thinking: I don't have the time or the ability to get anywhere in books like that. So I want to show you something really encouraging. When this was shown to me about four years ago by my pastor, it changed my life. Most of us don't aspire very high in our reading because we don't feel like there is any hope. But listen to this. Suppose you read about 250 words a minute and that you resolve to devote just 15 minutes a day to serious theological reading to deepen your grasp of biblical truth. In one year (365 days) you would read for 5,475 minutes. Multiply that times 250 words per minute and you get 1,368,750 words per year. Now most books have between 300 and 400 words per page. So if we take 350 words per page and divide that into 1,368,750 words per year, we get 3,910 pages per year. This means that at 250 words a minute, 15 minutes a day, you could read about 20 average sized books a year!
When I heard that, I went home, analyzed my day, and set aside the 15 minutes just before supper to read Jonathan Edwards' big book, Original Sin. And I did it in a couple of months. Then I turned to something else. I was absolutely elated: reading that I thought never could get done was now getting done in a 15 minute slot that would have been wasted anyway. Therefore, I encourage you, there is hope. Choose some classics that you've always wanted to read (St. Augustine's Confessions, or City of God; John Calvin's Institutes; Martin Luther's Commentary on Galatians, or Bondage of the Will; John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress; Jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections; etc.), and set aside 15 minutes, maybe just before you go to sleep, to read. You will not be the same person next year at this time. Your mind will be stretched, your heart enlarged, your zeal more fervent. Above all, you will have grown in wisdom. And it may not be long until someone says of you: "The words of his mouth are as deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a gushing spring" (Proverbs 18:4).
Don't believe me or him? How long did it take you to read this blog post of now 600+ words?
1 comment:
Thanks so much for posting this. I have always been jealous of how good a reader you are. I am doing better...but I am the world's worst at buying books, and beginning them, but never finishing them. Some of the best advice you ever gave me, was to read about 15-20 minutes, and then move on to something else.
My father told me years ago..."A preacher HAS GOT to read." And right he was. Thanks for these encouraging words, and I will pass them on to the folks I pastor.
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