How important is scholarship study of the Bible?

My highest academic qualification is Master of Education, General Degree. I prepared an application for a PhD entitled "Computers in Schools" and was accepted at two universities, but I retired first!
My post is intended to address a certain recent development in my thinking concerning scholarship in Bible studies, without diminishing my respect for the scholarship.
In my retirement and now in my old age I want to get closer to God through Christian fellowship, reading the Bible and morning devotion with prayers.
The fellowship here at CF is helping, but spiritually I am hindered by fellow Christians much more knowledgeable about the Scriptures and Christian history than myself (I am no BIble scholar!). My faith is very sound but I am beginning to think that theology is not what I need right now. It is a gift from God, as too is science, engineering,, the arts and all other human endeavours but they are all influenced by the devil and become corrupt.
Any thoughts?

@ewq1938. Many thanks for your post and I like your analogy describing the Bible as a love letter and I quite agree we must try to understand it, at least a little. However it is directed to all of us therefore our responses to it should be the same. It appears to me that a scholarly approach encourages a divided view of our lover, and I wonder if this may be the result of the machinations of the devil?

ewq1938 said:

I didn't say a love letter, just a letter from someone you love like your Father

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My apologies for the confusion. C. S. Lewis describes the problem in his book "The Four Loves". Of course we mean agape, not eros!
The other two loves are familial (which I think you describe) and friendship love. Lewis puts the four in a sort of priority order: familial, friendship, eros and agape, the last being the most significant - the love of God. To describe the Bible as a love letter is very misleading.
I really like the post by Romans 8. Oops! It comes up as a book in the Bible. This Good Friday morning the devotions of my wife and myself were based on the workings of the Holy Spirit. We were directed by God.