I have several books on my shelf that sit unread. There are three reasons for this.

First, I received a lot of books for free. People were cleaning out their libraries, finding them on sale, or giving them to me as a gift. Others were sent to me by individual writers or companies for me to read and recommend to my Church. They are unread because I never planned to read them in the first place. They are always at the bottom of my list, and only the occasional one makes it into my hands.

Second, I enjoy purchasing books that are recommended to me by a handful of people. These books are unread, but I plan to read them.

Third, I have books that I started reading, got a couple of chapters into, and quit. Quite often, they have a great beginning and lay out some premise. Then, over the chapters, they keep saying the same thing or never develop what they promised. If, after three or four chapters, I am not hooked on reading or am not learning anything new, I put it on the shelf and quit. Not everything deserves my time.

One mistake I see several Christians make is reading a book that has no value to their spiritual life. They are like chewing gum for the soul. I want you to know that it is okay to shelve those books and spend your time reading things that are beneficial to your journey with God. I hate that you and I both wasted our money, but don’t make it worse by wasting your time.