Another Thought on Reading

October 25, 2007

Lar,

I was reading earlier today when another reading tip hit me. I suppose it isn’t terribly profound or different than what we have mentioned, but I thought it was important to share. In short, when you read, take care to engage your affections.

You made mention of the need to pray while we read. We both said that prayer is a means through which our hearts are stirred by what we know. I agree with that of course. However, I also think that it is important for us to read with a view towards engaging our emotions. What I mean by that is that as we read, we should not only be thinking through what is being presented to us. But we should also ask ourselves: How should I feel about this?

That might seem terribly subjective or robotic in a sense, but I don’t think it has to be. Essentially, you are asking yourself, “If what this author is saying true, what should of emotional response does it warrant?” And of course, the responses vary. Some realities are worth a great deal of emotional response (glory of God filling the earth as the waters cover the sea for example), while others are not (how to balance your checkbook [something Erin was explaining to me yesterday...]).

Incidentally, these questions lead towards another tip, namely, look for connections to what you already know. The reason this lines up with the emotional element of reading is because if you are reading about balancing your checkbook, you probably won’t be too excited. But if you begin to think about the fact that balancing your checkbook is a means through which you grow in diligence and faithfully manage your financial world to the glory of Almighty God, you may get a little more excited. Indeed, you should get a little more excited. Of course, that example is quite mundane, but I trust it illustrates my point.

I could go on (as usual, yes), but that is enough for now. Engage your affections. Get excited about the text. Don’t allow yourself to become so familiar with a certain subject that you somehow become bored by it. And secondly, look for connections to what you already know. Particularly, look for connections to the great realities of the universe. For when you do these two things faithfully, reading (whatever) will be anything but routine.

Enjoying good books with you,
Joe

Posted by Joe | Filed Under Random Musings, Seeking Him