Faithfulness over dutifulness; the quiet time is a modern invention

Ben prefers 'faithfulness' to 'dutiful': faithfulness does not prescribe the means, only that when God speaks you move. He argues the personal 5:30 a.m. quiet time is a modern invention: in Jesus' day nobody owned scriptures, it was not sunny out, and nobody had an alarm clock or a personal notion of time. The regimented hours began with the church bell; earlier believers memorized scripture, talked about it, and sang the Psalms. Ben warns against deeming a good-for-us behavior the holy thing, so that missing it makes God seem angry; the question is not a time clock but whether you want in on God speaking.