STUDY - REWARDING AND ENJOYABLE

MANY people read simply for pleasure. If the material is wholesome, reading can be a source of healthy relaxation. Apart from their regular Bible reading program, some Christians derive real enjoyment from reading randomly in the Psalms Proverbs, the Gospel accounts or other parts of the Bible. The sheer beauty of language and thought brings them deep pleasure. Others choose for their leisure reading the Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Awake! magazine, biographical accounts published in this journal, or printed matter on history, geography and nature studies.

Whereas casual reading can be a form of relaxation, study requires mental effort. English philosopher Francis Bacon wrote: "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." The Bible falls eminently in the last category. The apostle Paul wrote: "Concerning him [Christ,as prefigured by King-Priest Melchizedek] we have much to say and hard to be explained, since you have become dull in your hearing . . . Solid food belongs to mature people, to those who through use have their perceptive powers trained to distinguish both right and wrong." (Hebrews 5:11, 14) Solid food must be masticated before being swallowed and digested. Deep spiritual information requires reflection before being absorbed and retained.

A Dictionary defines "study" as "the act or process of applying the mind so as to acquire knowledge or understanding, as by reading, investigating, etc." It follows that more is involved than merely doing cursory reading, perhaps underlining words as we go along. Study means work, mental effort and the use of perceptive powers. While study requires effort, however, this does not mean that it cannot be enjoyable.

Next time: Making Study a Pleasure

Watchtower, 2000