Life-long learning is a buzzword today in Management seminars. The disciples are essentially lifelong learners from their loving Master the Lord Jesus Christ. Reading is one of the best ways to learn. Paul requested Timothy to bring his books and parchments. (II Timothy 4:13) Paul was old, in prison, awaiting a death sentence. Yet, he wanted to read and be rich in the knowledge. He quoted secular authors in his teaching and preaching. Sadly, social media has overwhelmed people with so much information, that many do a minimum reading. As Christians, the priority is reading the Bible, and other books for wholesome mental and intellectual growth.
Renewed mind: Reading, studying, and meditating on the Word of God renews the mind. (Psalms 1:1-3; Romans 12:2) Berea city believers were nobler as they eagerly received the Word, every day studied the Scripture and evaluated the world from the prism of the Old Testament. (Acts 17:11)
Concentration: Reading trains a person to focus. Thus, the person has better concentration and focus on life’s purpose.
Imagination: While watching a video, the incident is seen, but while reading a book, the incident is imagined. That gives good exercise to the mind and could get new insights.
Memory power: Reading improves the memory power. Older people, when they read, their memory also works. It is said for older people, short memory gets weaker, while long memory gets better.
Motivation: Reading inspires a person to do or accomplish something. Biographies, especially motivate to greater goals.
Communication: Good readers enhance their communication skills. They would use appropriate vocabulary, have coherent thoughts, and listeners quickly understand.
Stress buster: Books like music could reduce stress and calm down a restless mind.
Examples: Billionaires are voracious readers. Bill Gates (Microsoft) reads fifty books a year, and so does Mark Zuckerberg (Meta and Facebook). During school days Elon Musk (X formerly Twitter) read the whole encyclopedia and used to read for hours a day. Oprah Winfrey states that reading was her ‘path to freedom.’ Warren Buffet spends five to six hours daily reading.
Do I have a discipline and habit of reading?