“The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed… but my son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” -Ecclesiastes 12:11-12 (ESV)
There are a lot of books out there.
There are books about baseball.
There are books about Jesus.
There are even books about books
And then there are… other… books.
Strange books…
Books that make you say, “Oh my good gracious how and why does this even exist?”
I found such a book while visiting a family member last week.
Now, just to be clear, when I say ‘found’, I don’t mean I was snooping through her house or anything. That would be totally creepy. I’m not creepy! It was just sitting there proudly displayed on a table, as if to say, “Welcome to my house! Please look at this, and infer whatever you want to about me from it!”
I’m trying to think of more introduction, but this thing is like The Matrix- ”It cannot be explained, it must be seen.”
So here it is.
(The picture quality is not great because I had to grab it with my phone camera, but it’s good enough.)
Get ready to have your mind obliterated.
Yes, that is a real book.
Yes, it is called “Ghost Cats of the South”.
Ghost… Cats… of the South…
Now, I like cats.
They’re pretty cool. I probably wouldn’t read books about them, but still.
I’m not against cats! I’m not anti-cat! I’m pro-cat!
I’m not sure how I feel about “ghost cats” though.
Call me crazy, but it never occurred to me that “ghost cats” might be a topic of conversation. So I do not have a “ghost cats” policy in place. I’m inclined to be suspicious, though.
As if this wasn’t confusing enough, there’s more!
These aren’t just any run-of-the-mill ghost cats!
No. These are ghost cats “…of the South“.
Apparently, these are ghost cats who say “y’all” and only drink their tea sweetened and over ice.
I have so many questions!
- Does the cover photo show actual ghost cats?
- What kind of camera do you need to photograph ghost cats? I’m assuming not just any camera will do.
- Why the geographic discrimination?
- Don’t Northern ghost cats deserve to have a book?
- Was there originally one unified ghost cats book until the southern ghost cats seceded from the ghost cats union?
- If so, did it trigger a ghost cats civil war? (Probably not. Cats are too lazy to have a war. They probably just had a nap instead.)
Okay, enough about ghost cats.
Sorry.
As you can see, I’m just really amused by that concept.
I warned you it was going to be ridiculous.
But, as promised, there is something you can learn from this.
You wouldn’t believe it, but even ‘ghost cats’ can teach us an important Spiritual truth.
What you can learn from this:
Like I said at the beginning, there’s a lot of books out there.
And you know what?
Some of them are really, really dumb.
That’s just the truth.
There’s no end to all the books, but only a few of them are good investments… and most of them are just stupid.
Don’t read them!
Don’t waste your time, money, and mind on ridiculous nonsense.
And don’t say, “It’s just harmless fun!”
It’s not.
Some relevant Bible verses:
“…test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” -1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 (ESV)
“The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths [like "ghost cats"]. As for you, always be sober-minded…” -2 Timothy 4:2-5 (ESV)
“…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes… you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart… But that is not the way you learned Christ! …put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds…” -Ephesians 4:14-23 (ESV)
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” -1 John 4:1 (ESV)
“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” -Acts 17:11 (ESV)
The Bottom Line:
Be careful of what you read.
Be careful of what ideas you allow into your mind.
Because here’s the thing about ideas: once they’re in, they’re awfully hard to get out.
Ideas are sticky things.
So be careful.
Parents, this goes double for you. You have a responsibility to shepherd your children well. That includes not allowing their heads to be filled with idiotic nonsense.
Ladies, I’m not even going to say the title, but you know what I’m talking about… Shame on you… That’s just messed up on 9,000 different levels.
Men, I’m not as worried about you. Most of us don’t even know how to work a book anyway. (“How do you turn it on? Where’s the ‘guide’ button?”)
I’m not saying blow up your library/TV and become a cultural hermit.
But when you do open a book or turn on the TV, don’t turn off your brain. Go enjoy books, TV, and whatever else, but do it through the filter of wisdom and discernment.
And…
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” -James 1:5 (ESV)
Ask for wisdom.
Do it for the glory of God.
Do it for your own good.
If nothing else, do it so your grandson won’t find your ridiculous ‘ghost cats’ book and blog about it.
Question:
What’s the most ridiculous book you have ever seen?
Leave a comment below and let us know!
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Rephrase your question for pete’s sake, it’s not the most ridiculous book you have ever seen, it should read– the most ridiculous book you have ever read! However, I do love your writing, your style is unique and deserves recognition.
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Thanks! My first book is under construction. I will be posting some excerpts and looking for feedback soon! Stay tuned!
For the question I meant literally ‘seen’, like on a shelf or something. :)