Yeah, so I have been thinking... I love reading books, and articles on the internet. I am almost a daily visitor to Wikipedia, and can honestly lose hours on it once I start. Yes I am a knowledge geek.
I know lots of other people who like to read as well. They read all kinds of books. Some read the bible. Some read moon-man books. Others read all kinds of books in between. Some read one book in their lives. Some read thousands. That's good. We are all different, so it makes sense that our reading habits are different, doesn't it?
I think it is very important to gain knowledge. I think it's more important to gain wisdom, but knowledge is a common precursor to wisdom, so gain as much understanding as you possibly can. Knowledge is also a great way to remove ignorance from your life. Yeah, people say , ignorance is bliss, but only only when you use that quote in context. Don't use it as an excuse to be ignorant, or stupid. I'm not talking about school education either...not all of us were fortunate enough to have had a good upbringing and schooling. Not all of our parents wanted us to be knowledgeable either. I'm talking about something different.
You may have heard the quote "when you stop learning, you start dying". Well, you've heard it now :P
I have a problem when people decide that they know it all. I am very easy-going, but when people a close-minded to new things, I get rather annoyed.
I really don't care how much someone knows, but I DO care about their attitude to learning. Someone who is open to new things has an attitude that says, "I don't know anything, I want to learn more", whereas a person who is close-minded about new things, or ideas, has an attitude that says "I know everything, and I don't need to know anything else".
Now I would like to put all of this into some sort of context...
Well, as someone who believes in God, and His Son Jesus, I think that we should be reading our bibles. Not as a religious duty of a Christian Legal System, but coz we want to keep learning. I also think that it is very important to read all kinds of other books and articles etc... Reading your bible is often like your bread, veges and water... All these other books are like your treats, your spices, your icecream etc... They are often very helpful at enjoying your life, and may give you a quick-fix pick me up, to add a bit of colour to your life. But your bible is the one staple diet that makes you healthy, strong, and useful to others. It may at times taste boring, but you need it. If all you did was eat treats, you would end up sick, unhealthy and no use to others. Or yourself!
I think it is wrong to read only your bible, if it makes you dogmatic, religious, closeminded, angry, defensive.
I also think it is wrong to read all kinds of books, if it makes you whacko, Dan Brown, Moon-Man loopy, anything goes.
You will need to self-medicate. If all you do is read your bible, be aware that you could be a religious freak.... GET REAL!!! isn't it ALL about loving God and others anyway? But if all you do is read "other" books, be aware that you could be a stupid hippy dropkick...GET OVER YOURSELF!!! if you are too open minded your brains will fall out. You don't decide what truth is. Truth does!
Your bible is the main road, all other books are dead end streets on the way... you might get something from visiting them, but in the end, if you really want to go somewhere, you need to head back to the main road. Only an idiot would plan a journey and then spend their time parked up on dead end streets. It makes no sense! Conversely, if all you do is drive down the main road, you may never see the real world. You will get where you are going, and if that's all you want to do, then go for it! But, some of us like to explore the details along the way to make our journey a deeper, richer experience.
Right, that's enough exploring, time to hit the road again!
