Speed Reading

(Proverbs 29:20 KJV)  Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

I looked through the translations and could not find the turn of phrase I wanted.  If I had the credentials I would put out my own translation.  As it is I will be forced to contentment with this blog.  I was looking for the phrase “hasty” (213) “words” (1697).  This obviously means putting your mouth in gear when you brain is in neutral, but, having been a preacher, my mind took a little jog and I saw that it also applied to our study of the written word.

I knew someone who was extremely disciplined about having daily devotions.  She had a certain amount of the Bible she would read every day.  She did it every day.  The problem is that it went in one side and out the other.  There was not thinking.  There was no storing up in the heart.  There was no application in the character.  That is why I don’t like the phrase “personal devotions”.  I think of it as “individual worship”.  Worship does not happen in an empty mind.  It involves interacting with the presence of God.  It not only means outward ritual but inward involvement.  Too often we are in a hurry to get to lunch or preoccupied with some work we need to get done that afternoon.

So?  It may not be what Solomon meant but it still applies.  Take the time necessary to be involved with the word on a daily basis.  You don’t want to be worse off than a fool.