The B-I-B-L-E

We all grew up singing the same song in church:

The B-I-B-L-E

Yes, that's enough for me

I stand all alone on the word of God

The B-I-B-L-E

(BIBLE!)

I think it used to be true. The Bible itself was enough. But recently I had to buy a new Bible, as my preaching/teaching Bible fell apart beyond repair, and the process to replace it was immensely discouraging (and frustrating). I have nothing against study Bibles or reference Bibles, Bibles with maps, Bibles with devotions, or anything like that. I do have to draw the line at what I think are plainly gimmicks, things like the "Playful Puppies" Bible or "The American Patriot's Bible." It's apparently not enough to hold the literal word of God, inspired directly by the Creator of the universe, in your hands. Instead we have to make it cute or speak to some other ideology to make it appeal to us. Something tells me no other religion would treat its holy book with such irreverence and disrespect; why do we?

I think there are a few reasons behind this. The publishers will produce anything they think will sell, and gimmicks sell. We as human beings are always looking for something that amuses us. More distressingly, though, I think we buy these Bibles because the actual text means very little to us. It doesn't shape our lives; it doesn't help us connect to a holy, living God. It's just something we feel guilty about not reading, and we hope that having puppies or George Washington on the cover will either lure us into reading more often (which speaks to how puppies rate compared to Jesus) or at least look nicer on the shelf than the plain black cover.

We must stop neglecting the word of God. It's enough.