Recovering From Scriptural Anorexia

Over seven hundred years before the days of Jesus a prophet named Amos told the nation of Israel, already tottering on the edge of destruction from their sin and rebellion, that “the days are coming…when [God] will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11). Like generations who had gone before them and who had the Word, but did not pay attention to it, God would make his revelation (which is “better…than thousands of gold and silver pieces,” Ps. 119:72), rare (1 Samuel 3:1), to the point of being non-existent.

This appears to be a pattern God follows when people, churches, and whole denominations have the Bible in abundance and a rich heritage of fidelity to the Word, yet fall into scriptural anorexia. They look into the mirror of God’s Revelation and rather than seeing themselves honestly and responding accordingly, as they should (James 1:22-25), they think to themselves, “Boy, I’m getting a little too fat when it comes to God. Maybe I should tune it back some.” And that some becomes more and more. “Man, I just don’t have time to read the Word, attend Church, be part of a Bible Fellowship.” They become skinnier and skinnier, more unhealthy and weaker all the time.

And here is the sad part of this all!  Often people can be in the midst of abundant biblical food and yet be starving just the same because they think they are fine without it, don’t need it. And scriptural anorexia threatens their own walk with Christ, their testimony, their family, and their marriage. And, what is worse, more times than not, this anorexia ends up being a famine of God’s Word.

We are so blessed in our faith family. From children’s church and Sunday School to AWANA, to Unashamed Youth, to our Bible Fellowships, Iron Man/Woman Teams, our Sunday morning singing and teaching, our congregation has an abundance of God’s Word, a banqueting table of Scriptural teaching.

Don’t be scripturally anorexic!  Realize the precious blessing we have, not only in the teaching, but the tools we have been given. Feast upon the Word and become a doer of it. The longer we don’t do this, the more likely we will end up practically-speaking with no Word, starving to death in the way that is worse than physical death.

This coming Sunday, September 10, we will introduce a helpful and powerful tool for taking in, living out, and giving out, the teaching of the Bible. Don’t let it pass in front of you at the table and merely respond, “No thank you.” Take and eat!

Joyfully Feasting On The Word With You,

Tom