How to be an absolute fool in 2024

Here’s how I did it: I didn’t regularly and personally read the Bible.

OCD and my other mental weirdnesses weren’t a great help here. I am a great fan of portable things—especially of the ultimate in portability, which would be pocket-sized things— and for years I tried to find a pocket Bible. In the same way that years ago, if I’d miss a day in my reading plan, I’d start over in Genesis 1 the next day; in the same way that if I woke a few minutes after my 4 or 5 am alarm, I’d consider that I had failed at early rising that day and give up and go back to sleep; in the same way that I face inward tumult over word choice while writing on a blog in which I freely name various examples of my OCD and other mental weirdnesses, I had put off beginning a regular habit of Bible reading until I had found the perfect pocket Bible to read from. Because then I could read anywhere, you see!

Well. I’ve given that up now, and am using my iPhone, which for most of the past 7 years has been in my pocket all day anyway and had access to a number of fine English translations and variable font sizes (and fonts) and search and bookmarks and various highlight colors and all kinds of other helpful abilities. My long search for a pocket paper Bible was no fair excuse. I was a fool.

At the present moment I am six days behind in a chronological Bible reading plan from Blue Letter Bible, in the YouVersion Bible app, hoping to catch up in the next few months. I recommend this (the reading, not the falling behind).

By the way, in my slow journey to acceptance of moving from paper Bible reading to iPhone Bible reading, an episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast from Desiring God, How Do You Use Your iPhone and iPad in Christian Growth? (the transcript—I don’t often actually listen to podcasts), was encouraging to me.