I’m teaching on the discipline of study this weekend. A couple of days ago I broached the topic of study->learn->do. You meditate to bring the Word more deeply into your soul. You study to analyze the word in order to understand the meaning. You read a devotional with Scripture in the morning in order to start the day off with the correct frame of mind. It all works together.
In order to do each, you need to start in silence with a clear mind and focus on the Word. Then you read something and figure out what the writer meant. This is work. I’ll talk about that work in a later post. I’m not from the generation that began with the later Boomers and extended on where evidently people were pampered and got the idea that work is bad. Actually, work is your highest calling. Whatever your talent, you need to work at it.
Going through the hard work of study must have some beneficial result else why do it. Study leads to understanding. Understanding leads to perspective. And this leads to wisdom. Wisdom is knowing how and when to act when faced with a situation. How to interact with people who need or are seeking guidance.
Some people think study is memorizing. They learned this in school. Memorizing is not all bad, but it is not understanding. You can quote a Bible verse to someone in need, but if you have no understanding, you cannot truly guide that person to understanding the truth in the situation. Quoting a verse does not take the place of a deep, focused compassion for another where the wisdom you have gained beginning with study becomes a spiritual fruit.
Study is good. Set aside some times for concentrated study of a book of the Bible this year. Or a spiritual classic like Augustine’s Confessions. It’ll pay huge dividends both for you and for the people you interact with.
Faith Venture 
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