Do You Practice “Spiritual Cramming”?
“And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you–and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.” Mark 4:24 (AMP)
“spiritual cramming” /’spir-i-choo-uh l kram-ing/ VERB 1. The act of attempting to pray and/or to study hastily or learn biblical information in a short period of time and at the last minute due to an impending test, trial, struggle, problem, or hard time. Cramming is often discouraged because the hurried coverage of material tends to result in poor long-term retention of material.
It seems like most Christians know that we should read our Bible. Most also probably realize that it should be done on a regular, daily basis. The problem is, most don’t do it. Maybe it’s because we think it’s hard to understand. Sometimes it’s because we think it’s boring or that we don’t have time. Maybe we think getting “Bible” on Sundays or in church is enough. Any additional study we pursue is frequently just “spiritual cramming”.
I had the same problem. Being raised in church my entire life, I heard the children’s church teachers, youth ministers, and pastors consistently say “read your Bible”. I just never did—except for when I was in church on Sundays or Wednesdays. Regular, daily Bible reading was not a habit of mine until about 15ish years ago (with the exception of a short stint in college).
Until then I was just a spiritual baby even though I was a grown adult with children of my own and even though I had a decent amount of knowledge from the Bible. I was spiritually immature and had an underdeveloped understanding of spiritual life. I expected everyone else to “feed” me, and any independent study often consisted of spiritual cramming.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready” 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 (NLT)
It’s like college students…
It kind of makes me think of my college students (or even when I was a student myself). They have weekly reading assignments. A lot of the time, many of the students don’t read them—at least not until right before a test. They rely primarily on getting their information during class. The only thing is, I don’t have time to cover everything they are going to need to know during our short time in class. The majority of their learning is going to have to take place outside of the classroom.
One of the things that I have to explain in my College Success class to the college freshmen that are transitioning from high school to college is the difference in the learning environments. In high school, 70-80% of the work is typically done in class. On the flip-side though, in college 70-80% of the work is done outside of class. There is a lot more independent learning that requires more self-discipline and self-regulation.
Sometimes students try to squeak by without ever cracking open their books. They come to class, listen to lectures, and take notes. Then when it comes to testing time they struggle because they were not adequately prepared. They may even read but wait until the last minute to do so by cramming right before their exam. This typically leads to a lot of stress, and they usually don’t perform as well as they could have had they prepared more or studied their books all along a little at a time. Also, when they cram, the information is normally just stuffed into short-term memory and is difficult, if not impossible, to retrieve again should they need it again at some point later in the future. They end up having to study the same material all over again.
Many Christians, like college students, practice cramming…spiritual cramming
I think many of us Christians are acting like my college students by practicing spiritual cramming. We should be spending regular time reading and studying our Bibles, but instead, we rely primarily on getting our information during church. The problem is, the pastor couldn’t possibly have time to cover everything that we are going to need to know to be successful in life (including passing some of life’s tests) in just a couple of hours a week at church. We are absolutely getting vital information that will help us, but it’s just a start. We need more. In fact, the majority of our learning really needs to be taking place outside of church.
Sure, we might squeak by without ever cracking open our Bibles by just going to church, listening to the sermons, and maybe even taking notes. However, when it comes to the tests in life we might not be adequately prepared.
Sometimes we might even try spiritual cramming by looking up verses and trying to seek help right before or in the midst of a “test”, just like a college student might do before a test. Similar to the outcomes that college students experience, this might even work temporarily, but it causes a lot of undue stress. We also may not perform as well as we would have if we’d prepared and studied all along a little at a time. Spiritual cramming might also make it harder for us to put the information into long-term memory, and then if we go through a similar situation in the future we may have to study the same material all over again because we never spent the time to put it into our hearts.
We need to prepare for life’s tests beforehand
Ongoing training is more effective than cramming. We need training to equip us to handle what lies ahead.
We need to be preparing for life’s tests and battles before they come, not in the midst of them. Wouldn’t it be absurd if the military waited to start their training until the war was upon them? When my husband, Eric, was in the Army he had physical training (“PT”) every single day, in addition to other regular and ongoing training, education, practice, and drills. He was ready to take on whatever he was called to do or face because he was prepared and was in constant training mode. Like the military, we too need training to equip us. Spending time reading our Bible every day is spiritual training. Spiritual training beats spiritual cramming any day!
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Romans 15:4 (NIV)
“A psalm of David. Praise the LORD, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.” Psalm 144:1 (NLT)
Spiritual food
I’d like to give you another analogy to sink this point in about the need for reading our Bible on a regular basis, instead of just periodic spiritual cramming. Just like we need physical food to keep our bodies from becoming weak, we need spiritual food. God’s word (the Bible and its contents) is the spiritual food that we need to stay strong spiritually. How often do you need to read it? Well, as I’ve heard Joyce Meyer put it, how often do you need to eat?
“…people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Deuteronomy 8:3b (NLT) (repeated by Jesus Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4)
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” 1 Peter 2:2 (KJV)
Do you only crack open your Bible in church? Do you tend to wait until you’re in the middle of a test, trial, struggle, or hard time to start looking up verses about your situation? You might be practicing spiritual cramming.
Take Some Practical Steps to Stop Spiritual Cramming:
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First, get convinced–Make up your mind that spiritual cramming is less effective than regular, ongoing spiritual training.
If you continue to believe that spiritual cramming is working just fine for you, you will never be successful in regular spiritual training, and you will continue to revert back. Ask yourself if it’s really worth it to wait until the battle comes to prepare for it. Ask yourself if you really want to just keep squeaking by. Is that really the kind of life you want, or do you want to have the abundant, rich, and satisfying life that Jesus came for you to have?
“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” John 10:10 (AMP)
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13 (NIV)
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Next, commit to reading your Bible every day.
Don’t settle for only getting your spiritual food at church alone. Start learning to feed yourself on a daily basis, just as you do with physical food. It’s okay to start small. One verse a day is better than nothing at all. A little bit over a longer period of time will sustain you better than starving yourself and then trying to gorge.
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Then, remember this verse…
“And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you–and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.” Mark 4:24 (AMP)
You will get out of something what you put into it.
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Finally, learn how to have an effective quiet time (Bible reading and prayer time).
If you haven’t done so already, subscribe to this blog and get a free copy of 10 Steps to an Effective Quiet Time. If you’re already a subscriber, go back and read through the 10 steps to refresh yourself, and if you could do anything differently go ahead and start putting those things into action. You can also read through some of the posts under the “Reading the Bible” heading on this page, to get more insight on tips for reading, studying, and understanding your Bible.
Hopefully, I’ve helped you see the ineffectiveness of spiritual cramming! I promise you that if you will start a regular, daily routine of reading your Bible you will start to see your life change for the better like I have, and God will teach you and train you to be more Happy, Healthy & Prosperous!
Don’t feel condemned if you’ve been guilty of “spiritual cramming”! Share some advice or encouragement to others by leaving a comment below.
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*Update: Originally posted 2/9/2016
I can’t imagine there is a huge overlap between readers of this post and Bob Marley fans but I’m still shocked nobody has mentioned “crammin’ in the name of the lord”?
😂