Jump Start # 960

Ecclesiastes 12:12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.”

The wise man Solomon, of all people, gives warnings about books. You’d expect and anticipate that he would be promoting books, but instead, he gives warnings about books. I love books. I have a lot of books. I have even transitioned to electronic books. Many people give up on reading. They are too busy, they say. Solomon’s warnings reveal two truths for us:

First, there are a lot of books. He says the writing of books is endless. There were 15 MILLION books published in the United States last year. There are books on every subject. All of this tells us that there are many authors and many people with opinions that they feel ought to be shared with others. There was a time, long ago, to be an author was something of distinction. A person was part of the literary circle to be published. Not so any more. With a few dollars, anyone can be “published.” Not all thoughts, ideas, and opinions are worthy of sharing. Some are not accurate. Some are biased. Some simply need to be kept to themselves.

What’s in your “library?” What kind of books do you read? It helps to be balanced in your reading. Don’t read just novels. Don’t read just one type of book or just one author. Words are vehicles that take us places. They explain, explore and persuade. God saw the value of words. He could have sent pictures, instead He had his message recorded in words. Words that could be copied and passed on. Words that could be memorized and remembered. Words that could be studied. God’s words are important. He chose them and expressed them in specific ways to convey His will. Careful thought went into God’s message. God didn’t use “filler” to simply make a big book. Every word, every thought was intended and needed. Interestingly, the word, “Bible,” is not in the Bible. That word means, “Books.” God’s book is a book of books. Books written over a long period of time, in various places and under various conditions by a group of godly men who loved Him and believed in Him. It’s hard to think of our Bible as a library. Sixty-six books—each one telling it’s own story and yet connected to the overall story of God’s redemption for mankind. Without the Bible, we do not know God. The Bible trumps all other opinions and thoughts. When Jesus was questioned about divorce, He referred to the written word of God. When the Sadducees tried to trick Jesus with a story about resurrection and marriage, Jesus went to the Bible. When Satan tempted Jesus, He responded with the Bible. A person cannot be right with God and wrong with the Bible. A person cannot be a Christian a different way than the Bible way. We do not worship the Bible. We worship God. Once the Bible was held supreme in our land. It was used to swear a person in court. It was diligently looked into for answers to life’s problems. Today, many shelve their Bibles and the common thought is, “Oh, that’s just the Bible.” Too many churches have moved away from the Bible, outgrown the message of the Bible and no longer respect the authority of the Bible. Shame on them. Many are racing to the writings of others instead of God. They are letting what others wrote shape their views about the Bible. Why not just read the Bible for itself and not what someone else says about the Bible? Let the Bible speak for itself. It will stand the test of investigation, questions and scrutiny.

Second, “excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.” Solomon is not denouncing books. He is not saying reading is a waste. The emphasis is upon, “excessive devotion.” Excessive devotion to anything, other than God is not good. Excessive devotion to chocolate is not good. Excessive devotion to TV is not good. Even excessive devotion to our kids is not good. We tend to smoother them when we do that and we become control freaks. Solomon is not tossing out books, only the excessive devotion.

Two thoughts come to my mind.

• It’s good to close the books and go outside. Life is to be lived. Life is more than thinking, dreaming, planning and reading. There are things to be done. Close the books and go do them. There are too many books to be read. A person could spend a lifetime with their nose in the books and have accomplished very little. Make a difference by connecting with others. Be a friend. Be someone’s support. Does this mean, never open the books? No. It’s about balance. Preachers need balance. Some do not like to read. Not good. Others only want to read. Not good. Balance. There is time in the office and there is time to be with people. There are classes to be studied and classes to be taught. Balance. Like walking across a room with one of Solomon’s books on your head. Steady, careful, not too much leaning this way or that way. Our lives need balance. It’s ok to have fun and laugh, but not all the time. There are times to be sober and serious. Balance.
• Learn to think for yourself. Read the books, but close them and then let the thoughts stir in you for a while. Think. Evaluate. Consider. Don’t let others shape your thinking. Examine everything carefully. Be a free thinker. Put things together in your mind. Don’t accept thoughts just because some hotshot shared his opinions. Experts can be wrong. Only God is right. He is right all the time. Think for yourself is true with sermons and Bible classes, also. Think. Explore. Consider. Chase rabbits. Jesus compared the kingdom to treasure that was buried in the field. A man had to dig at it to find it. We must put some effort into our faith. Why do you believe what you believe? Do you know? Is it because my preacher says so? That’s the wrong answer. I’ve found that many verses through the years have been misused and taken out of context. Folks have bent them to defend their opinions. These verses really didn’t teach what some claimed they did. These misuses were taught and others grabbed a hold of them and passed them on to the next generation without careful study or thinking about them. This is how error grows. We quit thinking and we just accept. Don’t do that. Ask questions. Look. Examine. Put all the pieces together.

I wonder what Solomon would think about all the books today. I wonder what God thinks about them?

Roger