It might seem silly and maybe even a little patronizing to write an article to help teens and adults think about how to become “A Reader.” But it’s 2022, and modern humans have been strung out all over the place with distractions, worries, secularism, and technology. Defined here, “A Reader” is someone who slows down a bit in order to deliberately and consistently read scholarly or thought-provoking articles and books of quality and merit. The ideas in this article are not requirements in any way; they’re just ideas and prompts to inspire you to find your own personalized way of becoming “A Reader” to the extent that makes sense for you.

Reasons to Become “A Reader”

• God’s Word is in a reader’s format. (Exodus 24:7)
• There’s good counsel in certain excellent words. (Proverbs 22:20)
• Reading about history, theology, heroes, logic, beauty, art, music, etc. can help with anxiety and depression because it enlarges your world, gets you out of your head and not so bogged down by immediate worries, helps you have wise perspective, strengthens your faith, develops both sides of your brain, makes you more interested and interesting, and cultivates hope.
• Being a reader can even help you reduce social anxiety because of the increased confidence and skill it can provide when having conversations with well-rounded people.
• The more time you set aside for studious reading, the more you’ll notice yourself regain some of the concentration you’ve lost in recent days due to technological advances and a fast-paced world.
• A person who tends to read a variety of viewpoints is better equipped to bring logic into irrational situations and can improve decision-making with a greater reserve of data in mind.
• The more you read material that spans through time, the more you understand how the world works, which leads to greater impact for building His Kingdom.
• Readers of history and philosophy can help the next generation become readers who maintain the importance of their family, cultural, and Christian heritage.
• In the midst of a loneliness epidemic, virtuous reading can help you connect with other thinkers. It’s also another opportunity to bring glory to the Maker of your mind.
• In a harried society, slowing down to engage with optimistic or beautiful reading and quality writing is a restful activity.
• Challenging yourself toward more and more complex reading, both in articles and books will help preserve your brain and vocabulary.
• As it did for Hezekiah, sacred reading provides you with humility and structure for more time in prayer with God. (2 Kings 19:14)
• Jesus was a reader of the Word (Luke 4:16), so being “A Reader” of the Word offers you another chance to imitate Christ.
• When Christians around the world discuss with one another the insight they are gaining from reading theology and news, it can be deeply encouraging to discover how God is moving among and uniting His people.

Steps to Become “A Reader”

Now that you’re motivated to become “A Reader,” you can train yourself to put in whatever time you’ve allotted to it. Here are a few ideas to play around with and see what works best for you:

• Work yourself into it by reading playful, descriptive, creative children’s books that focus on character and symbolize good over evil.
• Subscribe to a reputable newspaper or industry journal and skip around to find what interests you most. You’ll find your interests growing over time.
• Challenge yourself to take 30 minutes a day that you normally spend posting cute pictures, playing games on your phone, half-heartedly watching a show, piddling in your home, etc. and read instead. You’ll be amazed at what 30 minutes of uninterrupted reading a day can add to your wealth of knowledge. Just as you set exercise goals, you can have reading goals.
• Make deadlines for yourself for when you will finish a book. As productive employees and students have experienced, you may find fulfillment working in structured timeframes and be a good role model for others.
• When you find yourself reading a book you don’t want to come to an end, you could slow down the process for ultimate enjoyment and lingering with the storyline and characters.
• Choose certain times to silence your phone so that you can read without interruption.
• Join a book club. Or start one. This can be a simple weekly phone call or coffee break together or a monthly dinner club to discuss what you’re learning and how you’re growing as “A Reader” and thinker.
• Ask a friend to become “A Reader” alongside you. You could have such a good time passing books back and forth with one another!
• Spend time with people who are already “Readers” and learn from them which books to be reading for your edification.
• Consider taking a worthwhile course that would require more reading of you.
• Use a journal to record quotes from books that you want to be able to remember.
• Include reading as part of your daily mothering, even with the youngest of children. Establish a home that fosters reading.
• Have fun personalizing what it could look like to view yourself as “A Reader.” Your style may include shopping at used bookstores or creating your very own book nook in your room, etc.

Protect Your Character While Being “A Reader”

The following points are simply to help you do a check-in with yourself so that your new engagement with reading doesn’t derail your time management, raise your stress level, or create any new problems:

• The most important words you read are God’s Words because Jesus is the Word, it’s how you learn to properly think about God, it makes you a responsible member of the Body of Christ, and it blesses you. (John 1:1, Deuteronomy 17:19, Ezra 8:3, Acts 2:42, Revelation 1:3). Read God’s Word as your first reading of the day. Then you can make other sacred or fine reading as your second reading. With this as your routine, you’ll discover an increase in ability to understand Scripture and other advanced concepts.
• Don’t let reading become an unhealthy form of escape or self-medication. Anything good can become an idol if it’s out of moderation or in place of other important responsibilities.
• It takes discipline to make productive reading selections and then to determine the appropriate amount of time to spend with your new reading hobby. As with any hard endeavor, don’t give into the temptation to do this in your own strength; allow the Holy Spirit to direct and enable.
• Create an order of priorities that are good for you such as: loved ones come before books, but books come before entertainment or studies come before reading, but reading comes before technology.
• Know your vulnerabilities when it comes to distraction and make a plan to solve the problem.
• Arrange your day around your energy level so you won’t be reading when you’re too tired to stay awake. Choose good settings for reading. In time, you’ll train your eyes, mind, and body to read for longer periods or you’ll find yourself motivated to take short naps so you can get right back to reading. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Prayer & Blessing

“This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” (John 21:24-25)