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Wednesday 1 November 2017

Does the world really need any more books?

By Cindy Williams

 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true... Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body (Ecc. 12:10, 12).

This week, across the country Year 12 students are studying and sitting exams, and as the writer of Ecclesiastes says, the hours of study are sure to weary many a body.  Even as I write this I have received a call that the HSC student for whom I am meant to scribe tomorrow is unwell. Much study wearies the body and for authors, much writing -which often involves much study - can do the same.

Yet it is not the actual writing that wearies me so much as brooding on the beginning of that verse: ‘Of making many books there is no end…’





There was no end to the many books being written 3000 years ago and it has not let up 
since! Two thousand years ago the libraries were brimming with books (scrolls) written by Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, physicians such as Hippocrates, historians such as Josephus, poets such as Epimenides and Aratus (quoted by Paul); not to mention the Holy Spirit inspired letters and accounts written by the early followers of Jesus:  Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter and Jesus’ brothers James and Jude.

Skip a few thousand years, and many more thousands of books, and I think of the amazing stories written by those buddies in an Oxford pub – Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.  With so many inspirational books already written why would the world need yet another - why my book?

As Christian writers we seek to write what is ‘upright and true’. Sure, we want to entertain and inspire readers with great stories and skillful writing, using ‘just the right words’, but what sets us apart from secular authors is the uprightness and truth of biblical principles woven through the story.


As the world around us darkens, so a message of light and hope shines more brightly, standing out more clearly. It is not an accident that we are in ‘such a time as this’. When we dedicate our writing to the Lord, to be used for His purposes we can trust that he will use it at some time and in some way.  
‘Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ (Gal. 6:9)

With degrees in Nutrition, Public Health and Communication Cindy has worked for many years as a dietitian for sports teams, food industry, media, and as a nutrition writer and speaker. Her first novel, The Pounamu Prophecy, was short listed for the 2016 Caleb Prize. She writes a blog - www.nutritionchic.com - stories of health, history, food and faraway places.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the encouragement, Cindy 😊

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  2. Love your post, Cindy. I have also been burdened as a Christian novelist about writing stories that are not only entertaining but are wholesome, upright and speak to the heart.

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  3. Cindy, I well remember an occasion when I walked into a well-known Christian bookstore early on in my writing journey and wondered why on earth I was adding to such a mountain of books already in existence! But as someone said to me at the time, they were not OUR books--and we all have something to add and a story to tell. Love your comment too:'It is not an accident that we are in ‘such a time as this’. Thanks for your thoughts.

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  4. Beautiful post, Cindy. Thanks for sharing with us. :)

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