I have an excellent memory, and a terrible one.
I'm one of those annoying people who, in college, could spend 5 minutes looking at a list of important dates in history, then saunter into class and ace the exam.
And I'm one of those annoying people (just ask my wife) who can't recall the most basic facts about an "important" family event - who was there, where we were, etc. I often stumble into the pit of woman's wrath by describing a movie I saw at the theater only to have my wife remind me, "I remember; I was with you [idiot]" (the "idiot" is seldom spoken, often implied).
Its so frustrating at times to have such a firm grip on the type of useless info that would make me a good Jeopardy contestant, and yet draw a total blank on such important events as the births of my children and my wedding day. I've long since given up on reconciling this paradox or explaining it to my wife. I have decided instead to do my best with what I have.
Scripture memorization has always come easily to me. At summer camp as a child I was always at the top of the list in points earned for Memory Work. (At least, that's what I've been told. Of course, I can't remember.)
This is a gift I possess, I enjoy it, and I have some notion that it is glorifying to God.
So I have made a practice of committing scripture to memory for many years.
But recently I have struggled with my motivations for doing this. Am I memorizing scripture in order to "hide God's Word in my heart", or just to be able to say (like in a blog), "Hey, I can quote a lot of scripture"?
There is a bit of yin-and-yang going on inside of me, because I truly experience the blessing of having scripture readily come to mind, the right words for the right moment. Yet I continually wrestle with wanting people to know that I can do this. I get pretty prideful when I count up all the verses I can recite because I'm pretty sure that it makes me more spiritual than most other people.
"Sure, Andy Stanley can preach, but I bet he can't quote the book of Isaiah."
"Of course I think Francis Chan has some great stuff to say about living a Christian life, but ask him to recite all of Romans and see what he has to say to that."
(I can't recite Isaiah or Romans; I'm just avoiding telling you exactly what I can quote).
In my more lucid moments, I know that how much scripture I have memorized is not an item God is looking to check off some Super-Christian qualifications list. But these thoughts persist.
So should I abandon scripture memorization because it is fueling sinful pride in me, or would that be dishonoring the gift God has given me?
I guess the answer is, figure out how to use this gift with humility in a way that honors God and blesses others. I'm just not quite there yet.
Here's where my train really leaves the tracks: I think anyone, everyone, can and should memorize scripture, at least a little, on a regular basis. We don't get gold stars or Camp Team points (which get us into the lunch line first) for it anymore, but I believe we get something better. I challenge you, since you clearly had enough free time to read this blog in the first place, to devote a few minutes each day to this worthy discipline.
I'm one of those annoying people who, in college, could spend 5 minutes looking at a list of important dates in history, then saunter into class and ace the exam.
And I'm one of those annoying people (just ask my wife) who can't recall the most basic facts about an "important" family event - who was there, where we were, etc. I often stumble into the pit of woman's wrath by describing a movie I saw at the theater only to have my wife remind me, "I remember; I was with you [idiot]" (the "idiot" is seldom spoken, often implied).
Its so frustrating at times to have such a firm grip on the type of useless info that would make me a good Jeopardy contestant, and yet draw a total blank on such important events as the births of my children and my wedding day. I've long since given up on reconciling this paradox or explaining it to my wife. I have decided instead to do my best with what I have.
Scripture memorization has always come easily to me. At summer camp as a child I was always at the top of the list in points earned for Memory Work. (At least, that's what I've been told. Of course, I can't remember.)
This is a gift I possess, I enjoy it, and I have some notion that it is glorifying to God.
So I have made a practice of committing scripture to memory for many years.
But recently I have struggled with my motivations for doing this. Am I memorizing scripture in order to "hide God's Word in my heart", or just to be able to say (like in a blog), "Hey, I can quote a lot of scripture"?
There is a bit of yin-and-yang going on inside of me, because I truly experience the blessing of having scripture readily come to mind, the right words for the right moment. Yet I continually wrestle with wanting people to know that I can do this. I get pretty prideful when I count up all the verses I can recite because I'm pretty sure that it makes me more spiritual than most other people.
"Sure, Andy Stanley can preach, but I bet he can't quote the book of Isaiah."
"Of course I think Francis Chan has some great stuff to say about living a Christian life, but ask him to recite all of Romans and see what he has to say to that."
(I can't recite Isaiah or Romans; I'm just avoiding telling you exactly what I can quote).
In my more lucid moments, I know that how much scripture I have memorized is not an item God is looking to check off some Super-Christian qualifications list. But these thoughts persist.
So should I abandon scripture memorization because it is fueling sinful pride in me, or would that be dishonoring the gift God has given me?
I guess the answer is, figure out how to use this gift with humility in a way that honors God and blesses others. I'm just not quite there yet.
Here's where my train really leaves the tracks: I think anyone, everyone, can and should memorize scripture, at least a little, on a regular basis. We don't get gold stars or Camp Team points (which get us into the lunch line first) for it anymore, but I believe we get something better. I challenge you, since you clearly had enough free time to read this blog in the first place, to devote a few minutes each day to this worthy discipline.
1 comments:
And why didn't we enter that trivia contest a few months ago? Maybe we need to jump on the team trivia train...
I had to memorize scripture in school, for a grade, for my first nine years of schooling. And ever since then, I've had a tough time doing it. Even when I try, my mind just doesn't get very far. I still have a LOT of stuff memorized, but the rate I've added new stuff to my brain is extremely low. Wish I could kickstart my brain again.
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