God has taken the trouble to have his truth written down and preserved for us over the centuries. We should not be casual or loose about the way we read and understand the Bible.
It's important to interpret the Bible honestly, carefully, and consistently, rather than simply picking out verses that support what we would like the truth to be. Bible reference tools can help us handle God's Word correctly (2 Tim. 2:15) and study it with the reverence and care it deserves. Three books that are helpful for this are
How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart,
Understanding the Bible by John R.W. Stott, and
Applying the Bible by Jack Kuhatschek.
It's appropriate to spend time and effort to continually deepen our understanding of the Scriptures. But at the same time, there is a risk of drowning our love for Jesus in a sea of factual knowledge, measuring our spirituality by how much we know, or making Bible study an end in itself.
Jesus' harshest words were reserved for Bible scholars and religious leaders. He told the Pharisees, “You have never heard the Father's voice...nor does his word dwell in you.... You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:38-40)
So how can we avoid this pitfall? The Bible itself tells us how:
*Be humble. God gives wisdom and grace to the humble (Prov. 3:34, 11:2). Be willing to have your old opinions and assumptions challenged, and to be shown sins that you need to repent and be forgiven for.
*Cry out for supernatural help! Ask God to give you his “Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Eph 1:17) and to open your eyes so you may see wonderful things in his law (Ps 119:18). God is happy to give us his Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13).
*Be ready to obey. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). We don't want to be like the person who studies his face in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he looks like; instead, we want to do what the Word says and so be blessed (James 1:22-25).