In the past several years a new term has come into common usage in the English language. According to the Macmillan Dictionary Blog, the term “binge-watching” began to be used in 2003. However, it wasn’t commonly used until 2012. How is it that some of us have so much extra time that we can spend hours and hours watching episodes of our favorite shows back to back? Although there may be no harm in doing that occasionally, doing it frequently doesn’t seem like the best use of our time.

How could we better use the time, rather than binge-watching? If we have that much extra time, maybe we could invest some of it in an organization that needs more volunteers or an individual who needs a little help. Or maybe we could find some shut-ins who would love to have someone visit them. And here’s another idea: Why not “binge-read” the Bible or “binge-listen” to it? By reading or listening to whole books of the Bible at one time, we could get a better grasp of the “big picture.”

I wondered if there was information available as to how long it takes to read or listen to each book of the Bible. A website called euxton.com, set up by a little village in England, states that it takes a total of 70 hours and 40 minutes to read the entire Bible aloud. I found a website called travisagnew.org that tells how long it takes to read each book of the Bible, at the average reader’s silent reading speed. I discovered that the writer of the website, Travis Agnew, is a Baptist pastor and has written some books. He, too, had thought about the amount of time invested in binge-watching. I’m sure many others have as well. Click here to see a list of the average reading times given on the travisagnew.org website.

Binge-Reading the Bible

Actually, if I were “binge-reading” the Bible silently, it’s likely it would take me quite a bit more time than what was estimated for silent reading. I often stop to ponder how a passage might apply to my life, wonder about the exact meaning of some passage, wonder why a character in the passage did what they did, or think about how that passage relates to some passage elsewhere in the Bible. I love my Quest Study Bible. It shows possible answers to some of the questions commonly asked in regard to the passage. After you read one book of the Bible and compare the time you spent reading it to the average time given, you will have a better idea how to adjust the average reading time for the rest of the books to your own reading speed.

New Years is a time to set new priorities for the year. It would be a good time for us to decide we will try to use our time wisely in the year ahead.   Those of us who don’t binge watch aren’t necessarily “off the hook.” They say the average person watches 3 hours of TV per day. Maybe the time we spend on some things crowds out more important things. The things we spend time on aren’t necessarily bad things—sometimes just something we overdo at the expense of something more important.  Cell phone conversations? Computer games? Hobbies? You have to be the judge–after seeking God’s guidance– of whether your time is well invested. Let’s dedicate our time to using our eyes, ears, voices, hands, feet, and resources for the King of our hearts.

Take My Life and Let It Be

Below is a nice rendition of an old hymn called “Take My Life and Let It Be.” This rendition begins with the second verse. The first verse contains some great lyrics. Part of it says, “Take my moments and my days. Let them flow in ceaseless praise.” In other words, we can use the way we spend our time as a way to worship God. Click on the video below to hear this song of dedication.

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