n my bookshelves, I have a number of Christian books in several categories. Personal growth, spiritual growth, how to do this or that, how to change in 30 days, and 10 rules for this or that. There are books on forgiveness, grief, following Jesus, having strength for the journey, eternity, grace – just about any subject you could want in the spiritual realm. Not only do I own these books, I have read them all.

There is no shortage of these kinds of books, as is evident from a quick look on the Internet or in a good Christian book store or a church library. With the economic crisis these days, I expect the market soon to be flooded with books about how a Christian can survive in this financial downturn.

Have any of these kinds of books helped me? Of course they have. In each I found helps for my spiritual growth. Each one is based on some principle in the Bible. The authors expound on biblical principles and make them even easier to understand. I even put some helps from these books into practice – at least for a while.

Here is my problem. Soon after reading them and even putting some of the good advice to use, I forget the teachings in the book and fail to practice the resolves I made. Well-known authors wrote many of these books. The books are easy to read and full of excellent examples. Some are bestsellers. So why don’t I follow all this good advice? I am easily distracted, forget or find a new cause. There is also the problem that I am just a little lazy sometimes.

However, there is one book I have used over and over in teaching, preaching and personal devotions: the Bible. I have read it a number of times. The Bible has been my mainstay in learning, growing and improving. I even remember many verses and passages. Why do I remember things from the Bible and not other books? I believe it is the fact that the Bible is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit impresses it in us.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with all the various Christian self-improvement books. They all have something of the Word of God in them and are well written so that we can take advantage of their advice. If those of us reading them don’t use the advice, it’s not the fault of the authors.

My opinion is that the best use of such books is to use them in conjunction with the Bible so the Holy Spirit can impress the words into us. I recommend something along this line:

• Find a book on a subject that interests you and read it through. Underline things of interest.
• Next, using a good study Bible, check all the Scripture references with your Bible and determine if that verse in the self-improvement book might be out of context; make sure of what it really says when you consider the whole passage in the Bible.
• Then begin applying the principles in the book to your life. Memorize the important Bible verses and quote them daily.
• Include the subject and your efforts in your daily prayer time.
• Read again the parts of the book that interest you. You may have missed something important.
• Include a person close to you in your self-improvement project. If you share with someone else, you become more accountable for what you are doing, and that may help you keep on course.

Are self improvement books helpful? My answer is a definite yes, but only if we use them in such a way as I just suggested. There are a number of other methods you might use; but you need to select one that ensures you won’t read the book, decide the advice is something you’re going to start doing and then put the book down and forget it after a while. When using Christian self-improvement books, you need to resolve to also read your Bible daily and pray daily in order to accomplish your improvement goal.

Editor's note: This article is an op-ed and, therefore, reflects the opinions of the writer.