On the Other Hand: Do We Need a Daily Devotion?

Each week in On the Other Hand, Ben Bartlett defies the common wisdom and identifies the other side of the story of cultural hot-topic issues.

It drives me crazy when people say the measure of their relationship with God is whether or not they’re, “doing their quiet times.”

Science and research can find some pretty amazing truths about the way God has designed us. For instance, check out this blog post (and the stuff it links to) from the Freakonomics guys. Science is showing us that repetition is not the best way to learn and grow in your understanding of a particular subject matter. Instead, a better approach is deliberate practice.  Things like participation, focusing on problems and challenges, and doing basic preparation on your own are superior ways of truly mastering your material.

This leads me to question whether science and research like this should be allowed to speak to the way we educate and improve ourselves as Christians. To be frank, it’s things like this that have caused significant changes in my devotional approach. I do not have a “daily quiet time” as such. I’ve never found forced readings following a particular schedule to be productive. Instead, I tend to zero in on challenges in various texts, answers to specific questions, and careful study for the purpose of writing lessons, articles, and training materials. I still have to maintain a healthy prayer and meditation life, because the relational aspect DOES need lots of consistent time. But I do it at different moments during the day, rather than a set-aside, “quiet time.”

What do you think? Is it ok that I allow my learning and devotional approach to be affected by scientific research and discovery? What are some of the dangers or negative implications of such an approach?