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There's an awful lot of jabbering lately, in the form of Christian books on relationships. There are tons of them. I've even heard that some are good, and maybe they are. But why now? What is making relationships between men and women such a popular thing to talk about? Even the good books saying, "Let God handle your future" testify to young people perhaps unhealthily desiring relationships. If you don't believe me, what did you buy that book for? I'm not innocent of this, either. I think of relationships a lot. But I'm not reading any books on the subject. I'd rather think about God's goodness and mystery than be in a self-absorbed quest to discover why God hasn't given me a particular blessing yet. Easier said than done, but I'm trying. Imagine the outcry if mainstream evangelicals wrote books like, "Why Hasn't God Made Me Rich?" Think of the outcry, and rightly so. But noone tells all these romance advisors, "If you want to help me, then shut up already!" Yes, Josh Harris, that means you. Sorry. This is kind of a rant now, but if someone starts off a conversation with, "You ought to read this book..." and we're not discussing theology, or worship, or ecumenism, I'm cutting them off.

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