Galatians 6:7; Ecclesiastes 12:12; Daniel 9:1-3; Habakkuk
2:2.
“When one reads good books, it is like having a conversation with men of good breeding who lived in the past”. Renes Descartes (a seventeenth century French philosopher);
Someone also said: “every book
carries the spirit of the writer”.
Reading is like having a selective conversation in which the
author expresses only his innermost thoughts. As you read a book, part of the
writer’s ideas and thoughts are transferred unto you. It is not all the
writer’s ideas and thoughts that are noble. This has resulted to many broken
homes, divorce, fighting, religious conflicts, political crisis and so many
other mischief.
You, from hence forth, need to choose what you read. Bad
books will corrupt you and consequently condemn your soul to corruption. Beware and be warned. Be
not deceived: “evil communications corrupt good manners” – 1 Corinthians 15:33.
1.
THE POWER INHERENT
IN READING.
Reading is potent. It is the key that
unlocks various kinds of knowledge and skills. Often, what you read directs or
redirects your life. A student in a science class is likely to end up as a
medical doctor, or an engineer, or a pharmacist, or as a professional in any of
the science – related fields; simply because of what he she is reading and
studying. Children tend to pursue their parents’ professions that they have
immediate access to. When Daniel went through some books, he was influenced by
what he read. It stirred him to pray and fast. (According to our test) This
consequently changed the life and history of his people.
2.
CAUTION AGAINST
READING OF BAD MATERIALS.
“Whatsoever a man sows, that is what he
shall reap”.
When
you read bad materials, you feed yourself with wrong pieces of information and
consequently wrong knowledge. Feeding your thought and life with wrong
information and knowledge will land you in an undesirable situation. As a
person, avoid materials that contain traits you wouldn’t want to be part of
you. E.g. romance, pornography, divorce, quitting jobs, dropping out of school,
cultism, wrong religious teachings, and so many others. They will pollute you
and also lead you to confusion, regret, and condemnation.
The initial implications of such materials
are as follows:
·
The fictional deceptive stories will cloud your
vision of reality;
·
They will stir up strong feelings and curiosity
which could end up in wrong relationships;
·
They will change your perspective about issues;
·
They will aid you make several wrong decision.
These will surely axe your strength down in everything. I know of a
beautiful woman happily married with her husband, blessed with great kids. She
incidentally met one of her youth day lover of whom she fell in serious love with
but couldn’t get married to him. They both had a nice chat, perhaps a drink at
a bar close-by.
Due to a book she read by an author (of which I will not mention the
name). The book advices people in relationships (that is in marriage) to quit
if they find any other person they love more. Any I wonder if marriage is just
any other ordinary relationship, or
just a meeting between two people to produce children. After reading the book,
the woman jumped at the guy at his proposal for another marriage, and this
prompted her to leave her husband and those lovely kids. Oh, what a wrong idea
shared into her! But unfortunately, the man she supposedly loved more and went
after never loved her same way. He just wanted pleasure because he is a flirt.
After using her, he dumped her and she was left stranded with nobody to turn to
except the husband she had left.
Even as the husband forgave her, peace has not been really in the family
as it once was. WHAT DO YOU READ?!!! Pause* and Ask yourself this question. We
need to be careful.
3.
COUNSEL FOR GOAL
ORIENTED PEOPLE.
As they say: Readers
are Leaders. Show me a great inspired individual with exceptional
qualities among peers, and then will I point to you a great reader.
But you must ensure that you read the right
materials. The materials you read must positively offer you one or a
combination of the following: (I) inspiration (ii) information (iii) good
education. So these are my advice:
1.
Be selective of what you read;
2.
Avoid novels that arouse immoral feelings or
lead to unrealistic expectations;
3.
Read Christians literature, science and good
history books;
4.
Read more of the bible and bible-related
publications, example like the one you are reading all this from now; Subscribe to get our publications weekly via
email address.
5.
Carry out a thorough survey of the book you wish
to read. Check out for the title, preface, foreword, table of content, “about
the book”, and more importantly ‘about the author’. You must know his intent for
writing the book. When you suspect that the content will not help you
positively, drop it immediately please. Don’t gamble with your knowledge! The
human brain is like a computer data base. The moment a virus enters, it spreads
until it overtakes all its activities. This is the anti-virus you need to stop that wrong flow of information.
Remember, readers of good materials are leaders. Therefore, read to
empower yourself positively so as to live a successful and valuable life. Joyce
Meyer wrote on her twitter page: “ignorance should be feared more than the devil” Be wise and
accept this immunization.
Do not forget to subscribe to our page via email, and share this message
to your friends via Facebook; Twitter; Google plus; Podcast; Bluetooth; God
bless you.
I remain your humble professional life coach, mentor /counselor, inspired
by the holy-spirit.
Samuel C.A. James
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