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NASB | 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ecclesiastes 12:12 But beyond this my son, [about going further than the words given by one Shepherd], be warned: the writing of many books is endless [so do not believe everything you read], and excessive study and devotion to books is wearying to the body. |
Subject: Of Time and Books |
Bible Note: There has been much good discussion of late on the forum about books, discussion triggered by the current rage of the Harry Potter series of books for children. I believe the discussion has been not only good but fruitful as well...... Now, if I may, I'd like to bend your ear for a moment to consider with me a another thought about books that has been uppermost in my mind for several years. It was at about the time I turned 50 that it dawned on me that I was mortal. Time and what I chose to do with it suddenly became important to me, and it seemed good to examine that aspect of my life and to arrange the pecking order of my priorities. There simply wasn't time enough in the day to give full attention to everything that I needed and wanted to do, and that included the time that I had available to me for reading. Upon taking an inventory of my reading habits, I discovered that the time I was giving to reading secular literature was far greater than the time I was giving to reading the Bible. So, since I know no art that is able to invent more time, my course became clear. I had to be frugal with it. That meant that I had to make the conscious, deliberate decision to be stingy with the time I was using up in pursuit of the exquisite, but selfish, pleasure that secular books were giving me and far more generous in the use of my time in reading and studying God's word. That, my friends, was one of the very best decisions of my entire life. --Hank |