Jump Start # 3841
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.”
Our passage today is one that has always bothered me. There are two words, both starting with the letter “E,” in this passage. Endless writing of books. Excessive devotion to books. I guess one reason that this passage has plagued me is that I have experienced what Solomon is warning about. There was a time in my life that I wanted to collect every book written about the American Restoration Movement. Boy, I got a lot of them. But in this pursuit, new books kept being published. Then, I’d hear about some out of print books that I didn’t have. It seemed that I could never get all of them. And, after a while, so many of these books were saying the same things. And, then I discovered having all of those books didn’t impact anyone other than myself. And, the excessive devotion is so true. One can’t read everything written. There isn’t enough time and besides that, life goes on.
A quick look on Amazon reveals that there are 102 pages of books under the title of Abraham Lincoln. Under the subject of books about “Baseball” there are 4,000 listings. There are nearly 200 books just about my beloved Dodgers.
So many books. More books than can be possibly read. New books. Old books. Rare books. One of a kind books. I’ve seen a book that had the reformer Martin Luther’s name written in it. I got to hold a book written by Copernicus, it was extremely rare.
I’ve seen a few lists of books that fellow preachers highly recommended. There are lists of books that you must read in your life. I have a family member that has written a few novels. I’ve put together several of our Jump Starts into booklets. We are living in a time when fewer and fewer are reading. What about the “endless” and “excessive” found in our verse today?
First, books are only useful if they are read. Sitting on a shelf, untouched, a book becomes decoration. Some like to use old books just for that purpose. Every book represents a lot of work. Ideas were written down. Thoughts became sentences. Paragraphs were formed. A story line formed and a book was fashioned. There was an editing process. There was the manufacturing of that book. Then there was the distribution and selling of that book.
Every home ought to have a few useful books that will help one understand the Bible. As interest grows, whether in history, or, words, or, culture, more and more books can be found to help in those areas. If you don’t know which books would be useful, ask your preacher. He is a great source because books to the preacher are like tools to a carpenter.
Second, one must be careful not to spend too much time reading about the Bible more than the actual reading the Bible itself. It is much more important to understand what God says than what someone says about what God says. Go to the source. Make your Bible useful to you. Underline words. Write things in the margins. Tape things on the blank pages. Get a good feel of your Bible. It’s more than a book, it becomes your friend.
Third, the pursuit of learning is something that ought to be within the DNA of a disciple. We are always learning, growing and becoming. It’s more than just getting the facts. It’s building faith. It’s building a faith that will stand solid through the howling storms. It’s a faith that will endure the changing times one goes through. It’s a faith that changes the heart and leads one to become a servant of the Lord.
Books—I have a passion for them.
Roger