Brussels Sprouts or Brownies? How Would You Describe Your Bible Reading?

If you were packing a snack bag for a long flight and had to choose between two foods, brussels sprouts or brownies, which would you pick? 

I see those hands—and they’re all smudged with chocolate. (No offense to you brussels sprouts lovers.)

But here’s another question: if you were packing reading material for that long flight and had to choose between two books, a novel in your favorite genre or your Bible, which would you choose?

Be honest.

“Well,” you say (and I do, too), “reading the Bible is important, and I plan to read it. It’s just not my first choice for, you know, pleasure reading.”

I get it. And maybe my scenario’s not totally fair. We should read the Bible differently than other books. It’s not meant to be skimmed, consumed, and set aside.

But, may I ask you, does reading the Bible bring you pleasure? Is it your favorite book? Is it the first one you reach for when you have a few minutes of quiet? 

Do you love it?

I didn’t.

For many years, I treated my Bible as a fashion accessory. Every Sunday and Wednesday night, I’d put on my good girl church outfit. Clothes. Shoes. Purse. Bible.

I’d carry my Bible into church, turn to a verse or two when the pastor called out a reference, and carry it home again. Sometimes I’d even take notes. Or underline a particularly beautiful verse or passage. 

Every few years, a ministry leader would challenge our congregation to read through the Bible, and I’d accept the challenge. I’d sail through Genesis and Exodus, but my good intentions would inevitably crash on the rocks of Leviticus. 

I knew good Christians read their Bibles. 

I wanted to be a good Christian. 

Some Christians even lovedtheir Bibles.

I wanted to love my Bible, but I didn’t.

It seemed more like brussels sprouts than brownies. Something I consumed because it was good for me, not because it tasted good.

What Changed?

I wish I could say my attitude toward the Bible changed overnight. Instead, it was a slow but steady transformation that began when I read a passage the apostle James wrote to the church. There I learned how to position myself to learn from and love God’s Word.

1. Prepare

“Ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word” (James 1:21).

When we open God’s Word, we’re not just reading a novel. We’re interacting with a living God who speaks to us through His Word. The Bible is God’s primary way of communicating with us, His children. What a privilege—to read the very words of God, preserved for millenia for such a time as this.

James doesn’t tiptoe around the fact that sin keeps us from hearing from God. (Note to other good girl Christians: moral filth isn’t only heinous sins. It’s anything that contradicts God’s will or God’s way. Unforgiveness. Selfishness. Pride. Laziness. Complacency. Bitterness.)

Before we open God’s Word, we must prepare ourselves by cleansing our hearts. When we’ve cleared the soil of our heart of rocks and roots and it’s humble and soft, then we’re ready to receive the Word God wants to plant in us.

Coming humbly to God’s Word means we set aside our will, ideas, and self-reliance and say to Him, “I want to hear and act on what you say to me today.”

2. Respond

“But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was” (James 1:22–24).

I was halfway through my makeup routine last week when my phone rang. As I listened to my friend’s description of her weekend, I picked up toys the grandkids had left, folded a load of laundry, and straightened the bookshelf. When the conversation ended, I went back to finish my makeup.

Staring at me in the mirror was a cheerful woman with mascara on only one eye. 

The phone rang again. Another friend with another story. We talked until my phone alerted me it was time to leave for a doctor’s appointment.

At the doctor’s office, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. The same cheerful woman with mascara on only one eye stared back at me. 

Looking into the mirror of God’s Word does no good if we’re not willing to act upon what we see.

Reading and doing what God says in His Word sparks dynamic Christian growth. As we obey what we read, we see the wisdom in God’s guidance. As we accept His guidance, we trust Him more. As we trust Him more, we love Him more. 

Why wouldn’t we love someone who guides us into all truth, cares for our needs, and leads us on right paths? 

Which brings us to the third step in being a lover of God’s Word: delight.

3. Delight

“But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25).

I love how God, through His messenger James, ends this passage with a promise. When we dig into God’s Word, embrace the freedom that comes through obeying it, and persevere in faith, we will be blessed.

When we see and believe that God’s Word is a source of freedom and blessing instead of restriction and cursing, our hearts bubble up with love and gratitude. We eagerly open its pages, mine its truths, and apply its principles. We drink deeply of its wisdom and wrap ourselves in the blanket of its comfort. 

We love it—truly love it—because it’s an extension of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—active and all-sufficient for our challenging lives.

Brussels Sprouts, Brownies, or Honey?

You might be in the brussels sprout stage of Bible reading right now. Don’t give up. As you prepare your heart to receive God’s Word, commit to do what it says, persevere when you want to quit, and experience the blessings it contains, your Bible reading will become even sweeter than brownies.

“How sweet your word is to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth,” the psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:103.

He was right.