Shut Out

The news of the White House barring several media outlets has stirred a great deal of conversation. People are asking whether it is right to restrict who can report from the White House. Those are questions worth asking.

But as I thought about restricted access, my mind went to believers in other parts of the world who memorize Scripture because owning or reading a Bible openly can put them at risk.

Here in America, I can keep a Bible on my desk, carry one in my truck, open one on my phone, and preach from one every Sunday. No one is standing at my door to stop me.

And yet I can still live as though God’s Word has been restricted.

I can open it for a sermon but close it when it speaks to my pride. I can quote it when it supports my convictions but grow quiet when it confronts my habits. I can defend the Bible’s place in public while resisting its authority in private.

James writes, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22, NKJV).

Being a doer of the Word means allowing Scripture to shape ordinary choices. For example, if God’s Word calls us to forgive, obedience may look like setting aside our desire to punish someone, praying for that person, and taking the first step toward reconciliation—even when our feelings have not caught up with our faith. It means moving beyond agreeing with the command and actually practicing it.

We can debate the White House decision and care about freedom of the press. But where is our concern when we quietly shut out the Word of God from our own decisions, homes, and churches? There is no public outcry when we do that. We simply go on living as if the Bible has nothing to say.

The Bible is freely available to us. The harder question is whether we will submit to it.

God has given us His Word to show us the truth about ourselves and to lead us to Jesus Christ, the only hope for sinners. May we treasure the freedom to read it—and have the humility to obey it.

Do not merely open the Bible today. Let it open you, correct you, and direct you. Read the Word, receive the Word, and then live the Word.