Reading Christian biographies has been a major source of growth for me. They inspire me in a way unlike other literary genres because they blend Christian living, theology, and history in a way that stirs my soul and imagination.
Much like Hebrews 11’s listing of biblical figures who lived by faith, Christian biographies give me a special glimpse into the cloud of witnesses that encourage me to lay aside every weight and sin and run the Christian race with endurance (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Even so, sin can corrupt everything, including the great gift of learning from other saints who have gone before us.
In my experience, my sinful mind can produce harmful ways of thinking when entering back into the real world after soaring in the clouds of a great biography. As you read biographies or hear great testimonies, take these dangers to heart.
1. You can read Christian biographies strictly for entertainment value and neglect devotional value.
Reading biographies like Keith Green‘s No Compromise or Jim Elliot‘s Through the Gates of Splendor greatly impacted me by showing me bold examples of faith who went against the stream of culture (even Christian culture) to follow Christ’s call. A danger for all of us in reading of great examples is to pursue the entertainment value of great biographies while neglecting the devotional value. These books shouldn’t only entertain, but should grow our faith, stir our affections, and fuel our service.
When you read, pause and pray. We need the Lord to grow our faith and motivate us to obey and seek Him more to keep us from turning a great opportunity to grow and worship into pure entertainment.
2. You can be inspired and want to become great yourself instead of making Christ’s name great.
To want to do something great for Christ is noble; to do so strictly to make your name great is dangerous. For me, this urge comes subtly. Instead of desiring to build Christ’s kingdom, I may desire to build my own kingdom. We should desire to become great in Kingdom terms; which means a life of sacrificial service for Christ’s sake no matter who gets credit. In short: take God’s view of greatness over the world’s view.
3. You can forget that you too can do great things for the Kingdom.
While we don’t want to serve God with selfish motives to make our names great, we also don’t want to forget that we have the same potential to do great Kingdom advancing things just like many inspiring people we read about. We may not have the same opportunities or platform as others had, but God can use our acts of faithful service no matter how small to do great things in His Kingdom, even if we only hear about it in heaven.
4. You can value people with certain gifts over others.
After reading a great biography of someone like D.L. Moody or Hudson Taylor, it can be tempting to think the great gifts of leadership, evangelism, and preaching are the greatest gifts. We must thank God for those in church history with great gifts, but must not forget or downplay more everyday or behind-the-scenes gifts of others around us or ourselves. We cannot all be Charles Spurgeon; if we were, the church would lack a host of other gifts we need for the building up of the body and the glorifying of Christ.
5. You exalt your heroes into saint-like status.
Technically, all who believe in Christ are saints. My point here is that we can over-exalt our heroes by forgetting that they’re imperfect and fallible. We are all great sinners in need of a great Savior. (I hate to break it to you, but Spurgeon and Edwards were sinful people in desperate need of God’s grace just like you and me.)
When we admire brothers and sisters of the past, let us admire their faithful service, but let us also see them more as recipients and channels of God’s grace. The words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:10 help us on this point:
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Only by God’s grace are we saved. Only by God’s grace can we do anything for Him. When we stand before Christ’s presence on the last day, we will not focus on our great efforts but rather on His amazing grace.
As our souls and minds are encouraged and stirred afresh for the Kingdom through great Christian biographies, may we avoid these dangers and become people of grace as we seek to serve God with our gifts in our day and age.
5 Dangers of Reading Christian Biographies
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