How Reading Shapes Christian Maturity

Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. When the billionaire was asked what advice he would have given to his younger self, he said, “read.” Gates remains an avid reader even today.

Many of the most successful people in our world–Gates, Buffett, Cuban, & Musk–all have one thing in common: they are readers. In fact, they attribute some of their achievements to their reading habits. Hearing about how much these men value reading got me thinking: Is there any correlation between reading and being a mature Christian?

Now, hear me on this. What I am proposing is a theory on reading and a person’s Christian maturity. Can you be a mature Christian and not a reader? Perhaps. However, what I am proposing is a theory that the two are related.

What is a theory? Remember back to your science days in either middle school or high school. Every experiment required us to make a hypothesis or an educated guess. The same holds true for a theory. An idea for explaining a causal link between two truths. Therefore, my theory assumes that reading and a believer’s maturity level are in some ways connected.

My method for validating my view will be through four premises:

Premise 1: God’s Medium for His Speical Revelation

My first thought is built off the medium God chose to reveal himself–i.e., the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16–17). God, in his infinite wisdom, decided the best way to protect his Word is in written form–Hebrew, Greek, and some Aramaic. We can with confidence assume God intended for his Word to be read.

The spiritual discipline of Bible reading four or more times per week has been known to improve mental issues, increase engagement in evangelism, aid efforts of discipleship, and grow a believer’s faith. Since God meant for his Word to be read, Christians should be drawn to reading. In fact, we should be avid readers of Scripture since it is God’s way of revealing himself to us.

Premise 2: The Christian Quest for Truth

My second thought is that we would do well to hunger for truth. Jesus calls himself the truth (John 14:6). Christ confirms the Bible affirms him as the main character and hero (John 5:39). Jesus calls believers to love him with all their mind (Mark 12:30). Since God has revealed himself through his Word and his works–i.e., creation, Christians should gravitate to learning and knowing truth. Acquired knowledge stirs our affections for God who is truth.

Christians would do well to read books on theology, history, Christian living, science, technology, and anything else that helps us to learn about how God created the world to operate. We should be diverse in our reading by consuming books that are both contemporary and historical. I heard John Piper once say that for every “new” book we read–by that, he means recently published–we should read an “old” book like a book from history that continues to influence believers today. For example, read a book on executive level leadership and follow that read with a book by C. S. Lewis. Christians who know the truth are on a quest for truth.

Premise 3: The Bible Tells Many Stories

My third thought is that we might love to read novels or stories. The Bible’s full of stories about men and women of the faith. Scripture does not contain just theological presuppositions for us to study and memorize. We know the classic stories of David and Goliath, Daniel and the lion’s den, and Jesus feeding the 5,000. God created us to love and relate to stories.

One of the most overlooked mental faculties is our gift of the imagination. We can see stories in our minds. We can imagine future worlds or interesting characters or put ourselves in the shoes of some of our favorite heroes and heroines–I’m looking at you Katniss and Ryland Grace. Stories make us ask great theological questions about the world–the way it works and how it might change as ideas become embraced by the people–Animal Farm, 1984, and Brave New World. Plus, it allows us to have fun with our brains, which I think is often overlooked in the church culture. We would do well in proper times to be more lighthearted and enjoy life because Christ gives us a life worth enjoying.

Premise 4: Learning from Those Who Went Before Us

The last thought on reading is that we should feel drawn to consume biographies and autobiographies about the great Christian influencers of the past. Women like Elizabeth Elliot, Lottie Moon, and Annie Armstrong. Men like Adoniram Judson, Jim Elliot, and David Livingstone. These writers grant us access to their lives so that they can sharpen, develop, and encourage our faith.

Don’t we see this in the Bible as well? The Bible is filled with stories as examples for us to emulate or learn from (both good and bad). We can learn about obedient faith through Abraham’s story. We can learn about being men and women after God’s own heart like David’s historical narrative of 1 & 2 Samuel. We can look at Saul’s life and go, don’t follow that path because it leads to pain, suffering, and destruction. The Bible highlights in Hebrews 11 what made some of the people of God stand out for us to be encouraged by in various trials and emulated.

Connecting Reading to Christian Maturity

After all of these premises, I think we are on good ground to connect our spiritual maturity to our reading habit (if you want to learn how to grow a habit, I highly recommend that you read Atomic Habits by James Clear). Every mature Christian I have met or read from the past was devoted to the daily practice and study of reading their Bibles. A mature Christian hungers for knowledge and truth both in God’s Word and in the world he created. These books also help us excel at our God ordained vocations. Reading stories and novels exercises our imaginations and how ideas can shape culture and beliefs. Biographies and autobiographies grant us the strength to persevere through tribulation just like those believers who have gone before us. This means that without reading we may not be growing into the mature disciples that Christ commands us to be (I know this to be the case if you don’t read or study the Bible).

Therefore, I think my theory may have some validity to it when we review how God protected his written Word for our faith and godliness, which implies that spiritual growth is connected to our reading habits. Take your discipleship to the next level by reading God’s Word along with these other three categories. Be and avid reader and allow God to grow your walk with him. Christians, we must embrace reading if we desire to strive for maturity in the faith.

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