HOW THEY ATE THEIR DINNERS—SOME HINTS ON BIBLE STUDY

Once upon a time six children sat down to eat their dinners, and the way they ate their dinners reminded me very much of the different ways people take to study the Bible. In the first place there was Peter Player, who was in such a hurry to get out to his sport, that he gulped down his dinner in a careless fashion, scarcely conscious that he was eating at all. After that manner I have seen a great many people read their Bibles, their thoughts all the time on the work or the play that was to come after their Bible verses were read.

And then there was Lucy Languid, who sat in her chair in a lopsided fashion, and ate the dinner with no appetite at all, simply because her mother told her to. I have seen people read the Bible in just that way, without any desire to read it, with no pleasure in it, and simply from a sense of duty. That kind of reading does no good.

Among these six children was also Susie Sweettooth, and all that she ate during the whole meal was sweetmeats, no health-giving and hearty food. She reminded me of the people who pick out, when they read the Bible, only the familiar parts, and the passages easy to understand. They never think of going outside of one or two of the books, such as John, and Matthew, and the Psalms, though some of the most precious parts of the Bible are in books that are harder to understand.

The fourth of this company was Ralph Rapid. He got through his dinner in almost half the time that the others took, even exceeding the swiftness of Peter Player, but he ate altogether too rapidly. He did not stop to chew his food at all, and of course it could not digest well. The people that read their Bibles after this fashion are those whose eyes glance over the lines, but whose brain takes no thought about them. They read the Bible so hastily that when they get through they cannot tell a thing they have read, and of course the Bible does them no good.

Still another who ate this dinner was Mark Mute. Mark was a very solemn and glum chap, and all through the meal he did not open his mouth except to put food in it. The rest were talking merrily, and their cheery conversation helped their food to digest, as any doctor can tell you. Do you ever think that it is just as necessary to talk about what you read in the Bible, if you want to remember it, and have it do you good?

The last of the six was Lawrence Lazy. He ate his dinner, and then went off to lie under a tree and sleep. He took no exercise, by way of work or play, to digest his food, and he reminded me of the people who, if they read their Bibles, do not put into exercise what they have learned. The truths that Christ teaches they never think about practicing, and of course their Bible-reading does them no good.

All six of these young people, I am sorry to say, ate their dinner without saying grace, without thanking God for their food, and asking him to bless their use of the strength that he would give them. The Bible-reading of a great many people is profitless because of just such a reason as this. They do not pray over it at all.

I do not care very much, boys and girls, about the way in which you eat your dinners, though that is an important matter; but I do care very much about the way in which you read your Bibles. Do you read them like Peter Player, or Lucy Languid, or Susie Sweettooth, or Ralph Rapid, or Mark Mute, or Lawrence Lazy?