No More Books

I've made the decision to buy no books in 2013, so today I went to the bookstore one last time (I promise!), and bought a few books.

I bought Adam: God's Beloved and Aging, both by Henri Nouwen, and Monopolizing Knowledge, by Ian Hutchinson.

The reason I've decided to fast from buying books is because I'm not sure I'm being faithful to my own convictions when I amass so many books on my shelf.  I have close to 300 of them, of which I've probably only read about 150.

I've been telling myself that buying books is "permissible" so long as I open my library to others.  In other words, others benefit from my books, and that's a good thing.  But I wonder if that cuts it.  There are other options.  The public library (not to mention the amazing local theological library) has these same books, I could get them from there, and so could others.  That would certainly save me a whack of money each year and make me a better steward of my financial resources.

Then there's the consumerism factor.  I, like most others, like to buy things.  Having so many unread books on my shelves surely points towards a consumerist tendency, doesn't it?  I mean, why else do I have so many books that I haven't read yet?  How is that different from buying a pair of shoes that "I might wear sometime", or a cd that would be "nice to have".  I think there's a theological double-standard at work here: collecting shoes is not ok, but collecting books is.

Finally, and this is the most important point, maybe buying books is more an expression of spiritual pride than serving my neighbour.  Let's call a spade a spade: it's nice to show others my theological library.  That, after all, tells them that "I'm spiritual" and "close to God".  Another lie from Woodworm...

So, according to my life vows - simplicity, moderation, balance, stability (commitment), change (continuous conversion - my rule of life, I need to get this area of my life under control.

So, no more books for the rest of 2013.  I promise...