Is this the life hack which will transform your year?
We’re a few weeks into the New Year. If you made a resolution, how is it going? To me, it always feels a bit harsh to be tightening your belt and starting a new regime in January, at a time of year when it is pretty dark and miserable. Dry January, Veganuary – it all feels a bit tough when what you need is comfort and warmth.
I do not always have a New Year’s resolution, but I do like to change up my Bible reading in January. This year I decided to read the Bible in a year, accompanied by the excellent app The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, from the same stable as the Alpha Course. It’s a while since I read the whole Bible in a year – it is a bit of an undertaking, but nothing gets you immersed into scripture in quite the same way. The app gives you three passages per day: something short from wisdom literature (Psalms and Proverbs to start with), a gospel reading and an Old Testament reading. There is commentary on each one, which is really helpful to tie the themes together and give some extra insight. I am up to Psalm 18, three quarters of the way through Matthew’s gospel, have finished Genesis and am halfway through Job. It doesn’t feel like a bad amount of work for January!
One of the great things about the app is that you can listen to the day’s readings being read to you, which makes it much easier to use. I prefer to do my Bible reading sitting down before I get too far into the day, but if I have to be in the car or on the train first thing, it is great to be able to listen to it. The Bible readings come from the well-known actor and national treasure David Suchet, best known for his portrayal of Agatha Christie’s detective Hercule Poirot.
I find I am reading more of the Bible each day than I have been used to recently, and it is wonderful. In fact, when I was a week into the app, it felt warm and familiar, like getting into a warm bath each morning. This should not be a surprise: the Bible itself promises that reading it has many benefits. The book of Proverbs says that its teaching ‘will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity…you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man…this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones…your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.’ (Proverbs 3:2,4,6,8). These are not absolute promises – Proverbs is a book of wisdom which tells you generally how life will be – but, if you think of the Bible as the user’s manual for a human being, then it should not be a surprise that following it will lead to a better life. It certainly does not mean a lottery win, but points to a life lived well with your creator.
In her new book, How Church Could (Literally) Save Your Life, Rebecca McLaughlin unpacks a wide range of scientific evidence from secular sources that weekly religious practice helps guard against depression, increases happiness, improves physical health and extends life expectancy. Christians would always have argued that faith is good for your spiritual health, but there is solid evidence that it is also good for your physical and mental health. The Bible’s promises about the positive effect that reading it and following its teachings has, is backed up by scientific evidence about its practices. Together, reading the Bible and attending church could just be the life hack which will transform your 2026.