A Free and Green Christmas Gift

Quote of the day:
“This is the story of an unprejudiced heart, and how it changed our valley forever.”
--Introduction to the movie Babe, written by George Miller and Chris Noonan.

How’s this for an environmentally-friendly Christmas gift--a library card and a trip to the library. Give the opportunity to borrow some books, CDs and DVDs for free.

When you borrow instead of buy, it saves the paper, plastic and energy needed to make a book or CD or DVD just for you. It saves you money and is low-risk, too. If you borrow a book, CD or DVD and don’t like it after you’ve sampled it, you can just bring it back. You don’t have to feel guilty about not reading it, watching it or listening to it.

As an ordained minister I have gained a lot of experience with book accumulation. The field requires a lot of reading and reference work. The little secret is that most ministers don’t use or even read most of the books surrounding them in their offices. Just like in many homes, the books wind up as expensive and heavy shelf decoration, and they bring status.

I have served four churches. Each time I moved out of my church office, I donated approximately half my remaining books to various worthy groups. It wasn’t hard to locate and pull out volumes I had used rarely or not at all.

I love books, but I love books to read, not just to have around. I continue to buy them from time to time. But I also love to browse at the library, and pick up some books and CDs that look interesting.

Wouldn’t that experience make a great gift?