Why I Love My Kindle

The truth is I don’t love my kindle. I enjoy my Kindle, I’m overjoyed that I was able to purchase one, but I don’t love it.

I like how I can carry an entire library in my purse. It has a non-glare screen that enables you to read it at the beach in bright sunlight, or on your back porch in the shade. It has a battery that last for days on end between charges. Books are less expensive on a Kindle and there are lots of books you can find for free! You can change the font size to whatever you need in order to read in comfort. You certainly can’t do that with a book. You can set it to read to you if your eyeballs are tired, and you can even suggest books and reviews to your Facebook buddies right from the Kindle screen. I could go on and on about the wonderful things about my Kindle.

Still, I don’t love it.

Don’t get me wrong, my Kindle is great. In fact I highly recommend it to anyone who loves to read, which is why I advertise it on my blog.

I’m sorry Kindle. It isn’t you, the problem is me.

We love our cars, we love fettuccine, we love the paint color on the walls at the coffee shop, we love that movie, we love those shoes, and we love what you did with the place.

Seriously? We’re talking about possessions, ideas and inanimate objects here. Do we truly love them?

It isn’t wrong to use the word, but you have to admit that it’s been overused, misused, abused, and watered down.

Here’s a little perspective.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Wow. God loved us that much. He gave his son to die and suffer in our place. That’s strong. That’s love. In fact, with the exception of close family, I don’t know that I could truly love that strong. I’m 100% sure that I don’t feel this strongly towards my Kindle, or any of my material belongings for that matter. In all honesty, as much as I love my pets, I’m fairly certain that if it came down to me or them, suffice it to say the vet bill would become non-existent.

So then, what do I do with that word-“love”?

I am told to love my neighbor as I love myself. Do I? Not always. This is where the problem lies. I can love an object, or a song, or an idea, but…can’t… love…my neighbor?

Who is this proverbial neighbor anyway?

He’s the guy that cut you off in traffic this morning;, she’s the woman that bumped you out of the promotion you deserved; he’s the teacher that treated your child unfairly;, she’s the boss that continually points out your mistakes in front of your peers, and it’s the ex husband or wife that broke your heart. They’re the homeless family that you pass every morning on the street corner; it’s the elderly lady sitting alone in a restaurant on Thanksgiving Day, and it’s the millions of children who find themselves recently orphaned due to famine and disease.

Putting it in that perspective kind of complicates matters just a bit doesn’t it? Love as it turns out is a choice, an often hard and uncomfortable choice.

So how do we do this? How do we make this choice?

We start with the God of love who created us in His image. We first must choose to love Him; and through the grace and mercy He so freely gives to us, we can in turn love others as He loves us. It isn’t always easy, but it is rewarding. It changes us from the inside out and makes us better people-better people for God’s glory and not our own.

I love God for the each breath that he allows me to breathe. I love Jesus for sacrificing His life to teach me how to truly live. I love the Holy Spirit for taking up residence in my heart and giving me peace, joy, and wisdom.

I sure do like my Kindle, but I’m pretty sure it can’t do all of that.


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