Living By Faith Blog

Icon

Biblical, battle-tested, real-life help for "living by faith in the Son of God" (Galatians 2:20). — Steve Fuller

Why I’m Taking This Book Back To The Library

An interesting book

I enjoy reading biographies and history — and I often check these out from my neighborhood library.

So last week as I was in the library I saw a novel about the First World War.

It looked good, and I checked it out.

And it is good.  History, interesting characters, plot — good stuff.

But …

But last night there was a section that was sexually explicit.

I tried just skimming through it — but it still affected me.  And afterward it was not easy keeping those images out of my mind.

So even though I’m less than a quarter of the way through — I’m taking the book back to the library.  Why?

Growing tomatoes

It’s like growing tomatoes.  When you grow tomatoes there are things you can add to the garden to produce growth — like water and fertilizer.

But there are also things you can take from the garden — things which get in the way of growth — like weeds and tomato horn-worms.

Same with our spiritual lives.

My greatest joy is beholding and worshiping Jesus Christ.  So there are things I can add to my life that will increase that joy — prayer, God’s Word, evangelism, talking with other believers.

But there are also things I can take from my life — things which hinder joy in Christ — like this book.

Running a race

In Heb 12:1-2 we read that we are all runners in a race.  The joy that awaits us motivates us to lay aside every extra weight.

What would you say to a marathon runner carrying a 100-pound backpack full of unnecessary stuff?  Dump the backpack!

So I’m dumping the book — taking it back to the library.

Comments?  Thoughts?

I’d love to hear them.  Leave a reply below — thanks.

If you know someone this would help, email it to them using the “share” button below.  Or use the other buttons to share it on your favorite social media.

If you would like to interact with others who are seeking to live by faith in Christ, visit our Forums page.

If you would like to receive a Saturday email summarizing the week’s posts — subscribe here.  (I will only use your email address for Living By Faith Blog communications, and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

And here are some related posts you might find helpful –

 

Category: Motivation for Obedience, Stories from My Life

Tagged:

10 Responses

  1. John Campbell says:

    Great word Steve!

  2. Cindy Garcia says:

    I like what you have to say here Steve. Thank you.

  3. Katherine F. says:

    Ken Follett books could be so great, if they came with a good number of certain pages torn out. A shame. Why do some authors feel the need to sully their awesomely written, fascinating, historical pages with rot? Just so unnecessary. I also now stay away from author Philippa Gregory, for the exact same reason. The images do seem to stay forever. Now trying to burn the Word of God into my mind instead…now there are some HELPFUL images…Jesus the Living Water, the God of all Comfort, the Good Shepherd, the One Gate, the Lamb of God…

  4. Kathy Woods says:

    How wonderful to be alert enough catch those spiritual warnings! Holy Spirit, help us each to be so awake!

  5. Jason Belk says:

    Thanks for sharing this steve. I agree wisdom and desire to see Christ are key in making decisions in what to input in our life. There needs to be a non-legalistic approach to it. We can’t be afraid of certain books/authors because we disagree with them, but also be aware of teaching influences, as well as other stumbling blocks (whether that be sexual or otherwise) and react accordingly

  6. jjchew says:

    Good point.

Leave a Reply to Cindy Garcia × Cancel reply

Join 3,436 people who receive Living by Faith updates —

More Help for Your Faith

  • RSS Feed
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Feedback

"I just found your blog recently, and I've NEVER found such clarity, understanding and comfort before." (Sarah)

"AWESOME. Going to mangle this sin tonight with the Promises of God." (Alec)

"If I could subscribe to only one blog, yours would be it." (Lyn)

"I think you are really on to something with this blog. I don’t know of anything else like it." (Doug)

"Excellent comment. Really well put and wisdom that is strangely lacking in much evangelical thinking." (John)

"Thank you -- I needed to hear this. So clear and concise yet captivating." (Stacey)

"Such a helpful post. I’ve bookmarked it and reread it two or three mornings just this week." (Doug)