Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
Matthew 1:1-17 – Boring Bible Reading
It’s Not About Me
Boring, boring, boring. Reading the Bible and getting bored is not a good sign. But if I mentioned my boredom came while reading genealogies, you probably would think, “Oh that explains it. Me too!”
Why are Biblical genealogies boring? Name after name after name after name after…well you get the picture. Getting excited in reading genealogies will probably never happen, but in reading them…and getting bored…I learned something about myself. And that can be exciting.
Why are these genealogical tables boring…besides the obvious droning on and on of names? They are boring because – are you ready? – they are not about me. If reading about my roots, my heritage, my family, then I would be interested. Why? Because it would be about me!
I am interested in me! I like learning about me. I hope that doesn’t sound selfish; but isn’t it natural to be interested in one’s self? But natural is not the same as spiritual, is it? Being interested in others is a spiritual goal worthy of striving for, right?
Here is another trick in getting more out of the genealogical tables – know something about the people we are reading about. Reading a list of my own ancestors’ names would eventually become boring unless I knew something about them. For example, the name of my ancestor Lyman Hall means more to me because I know he signed the Declaration of Independence. Just thought I would include something about me!
While I doubt reading name after name after name will ever become exciting, maybe I can try harder to put myself in the place of those people. After all, wouldn’t it be cool to have our name written in a book where billions of people would read about us?! And how many of us would want billions of readers to think…boring, boring, boring?
Comments