II Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Job 23:12 “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”
“Call Sign Chaos” is a masterful leadership book from the former Secretary of Defense, General Jim Mattis. In it, he shares powerful words about the importance of functional literacy:
“Reading is an honor and a gift from a warrior or historian who – a decade or a thousand decades ago – set aside time to write. He distilled a lifetime of campaigning in order to have a ‘conversation’ with you. We have been fighting on this planet for ten thousand years; it would be idiotic and unethical to not take advantage of such accumulated experiences. If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you. Any commander who claims he is ‘too busy to read’ is going to fill body bags with his troops as he learns the hard way.”
Yes, General Mattis calls you idiotic, incompetent and functionally illiterate if you are not well read, especially if the lives of others are in your hands.
God delivered to us His perfect Word. It is profitable for what to believe, what not to believe, how to live, and how to not live. It is specifically designed to thoroughly furnish all of us based on the infallible Word of God that distills an eternity of wisdom into a single book. The lives and eternities of those around us are in our hands.
Job was left diseased and destitute by the attacks of Satan. He was surrounded by death and discouragement. Job would have never been able to handle the chaos around him without the reassuring strength provided by God’s Word. Job was Biblically literate, and it made all the difference in the face of the panic and pessimism that swirled around him.
PLEASE PRAY FOR A REFOCUS ON THE READING AND STUDYING OF GOD’S WORD IN THE MIDST OF THE PANIC AND PESSIMISM THAT IS SWIRLING AROUND US. May Christians be Biblically literate to help the hopelessness of humanity.
