Fighting

I think I'm probably missing the deeper meaning of a lot of what I'm reading. Part of that is due to me and part of that is due to the reading plan - reading the entire Bible in 90 days is quite aggressive and doesn't leave time for much reflection. Whatever the reason, I basically see a lot of the same thing throughout Joshua, Judges, Ruth and 1 Samuel. Here's where we are: the Israelites finally reach the promised land. Once they get there they have to kick the former inhabitants out - which means a lot of fighting a lot of people. In between various wars and attacks, the chosen people resume their evil ways by worshiping idols or not completely destroying their plunder. Then they cry out to the Lord and are forgiven and the whole cycle starts over again. How's that for a Cliff's Notes version of 3 books of the Bible?

At this point I've finished 20 days of reading (I'm 3 days ahead!) and I hate to admit it, but I resent the amount of time this is taking. How selfish is that? I only have to read 12 pages a day, and yes, that takes about 45 minutes to read, but it's only 45 minutes a day. But resent it I do. I'd rather go out with my friends, get in a decent workout, or work through lunch to get more stuff done. Heck, some days I find that watching something on TV is more of a priority. I have to force myself stop and think about all that God has given me and when I think that spending 45 minutes a day with the Scriptures is an imposition, I am ashamed. Not normally ashamed enough to have a different attitude, however. In that respect, how different am I from the Israelites who can't seem to learn from their mistakes?

With all the differences that exist between my life and that of the people I'm reading about, and though my battles aren't with neighboring people but within myself, I'm a lot more like the Israelites than I originally thought. We're both still fighting.