Monday, October 2, 2023

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16

A Psychology Today article states that we are attracted to what is familiar because we consider people we know “safe” and “unlikely to cause harm.” The author says that this not only applies to people we have seen or who look familiar, but also to those who have behaviors that are familiar to us. This propensity toward familiarity also applies to other matters. For instance, I have owned seven cars during my lifetime. Among those purchases are three black sedans in the last two decades. And honestly, my next car will probably fall in the same category. Those cars have served me well, so I am most likely to repeat my purchase pattern. You get the picture.

It is the same with Scripture. Most of us gravitate to books and portions of the Bible that are familiar to us. We most likely read those stories that we have heard preached or taught.

Over the next two weeks, we will take a ride toward the unfamiliar—to verses and books we rarely study or read. It is my prayer that doing so will whet your appetite for more and in the process extend our breadth of the Word of God.

PRAYER: Lord, I look forward to learning and reading certain passages that are not always familiar. Let this experience give me the desire for all of your word. For it is essential for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

The Familiarity Principle of Attraction | Psychology Today