OK, no, I'm not pledging myself to illiteracy. Rather, I am done with a tendency I sense in myself and others that tend to be more affluent and cut off from the needs of the world - we'd rather read books about issues than encounter them face-to-face.
I am done with just reading books on poverty, social justice, and being the hands and feet of Jesus. I know that it's messy to go out and do those sorts of things, but frankly, that' s a mess I'd rather be in than out of.
So, it may be time to put a few books on the shelf or leave the magazine on the nightstand and pen a few words with my actions. I used to believe so strongly in this kind of action that I didn't event need to write a blog about it. I just did it.
Something stale and anesthetized has crept into my faith life over the past couple years, and I think that I've tried to balance it with excessive self-education. It needs to change.
Don't get me wrong - reading is great. But if the ideas I'm imbibing aren't propelling me to action, then why am I reading it in the first place?
I am done with reading books... when the reading replaces the doing.
Friday, January 30, 2009
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4 comments:
so encouraging! i'm with you on that, friend!
I love that last line, "when the reading replaces the doing." There are some things I wouldn't know about without the reading, and there are some things that I read that I want to then do, but I don't know what or how to do next.
thanks for the encouragements
understood you completely. Reading's good, but not to build a pseudo world. I love to read, but a walk in the sunshine ain't a half-bad use of time either. That quote of Jesus comes to mind, "You search the scriptures, because you think in them is eternal life and the scriptures point to Me." I run into this alot, both in my own life (using the Bible as a talisman) to just reading about God, instead of trying in some small way to really hook up with Him. Same applies to anything else - I know alot of people who can talk about alot of things, some in great depth; problem is that they can't do too much. There's a balance to be struck, here, and fortunately, a sharp mind can eventually figure this out, also. Good post.
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