Reading / Uncomfortable thoughts

I am a big reader - I always have at least one book I am reading, but sometimes even working through several at one time.

I have my reading for pleasure books - I love science fiction books, and that is the largest part of my pleasure reading. The part I love best about science fiction is the way it really encompasses all other genres of books, but usually in a setting that is different than the one we are used to. You can take just about any other story from any other genre and change the setting, and it now is a scifi book. I really enjoy the science fiction that uses those different settings to spur speculative thoughts. In every age since science fiction started, the leading authors are usually those who use their platform to call into question the injustices of that age in very subtle ways. As an example - way more blatant than normal, but one that most could understand at first glance - there is a reason why Star Trek back in the 60s had a black female on the bridge (command level people only), not to mention people of several different races (even a Russian - in the 60s!!), and even including an alien (Mr Spock). This was a call for embracing our diversity, a foresight that the future would see past the petty differences that at that time separated the nation.

I also enjoy a mystery, historical fiction, even occasionally a Christian romance book. Well, at least this one series my wife got me hooked on. (by Karen Kingsbury - starts with the Redemption series, continues with same characters with the Firstborn series, and now into the Sunrise series. Highly highly recommended. Wow.)

But not all my reading is for pleasure. Wait - I don't like how that sounds. My other reading is pleasurable, it just has different aims and goals. Mainly I like to pick up various Christian books to challenge myself, books to spur growth or facilitate new thoughts. I find these to be invaluable to my life as a Christian. Most of us tend to let our thinking get into common paths; we have our beliefs that we are comfortable with, and don't really want to push ourselves in ways that can be uncomfortable. In order to think new thoughts or find new paths we have to work at it. Not that every new thought is good of course - all must be weighed, examined against the TRUTH to determine their value. But if we do not challenge ourselves by some method to grow, then we stagnate. This is all too common in the church today - Christians who found their comfort level and stay there. Their life will be totally missing the dynamic element, the highs of the consuming passions, the lows of the heavy burdens, but above all they will be missing God.

If you have gotten comfortable with your routine, then how much work does it take for God to move you?