As soon as Asa heard these words, … he took courage and put away the detestable idols… . Even Maacah, his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.

2 Chronicles 15:8,16

“Burn, shred, dispose of any way you can any Christian how-to book you have.” Do you remember me saying that?

Did you figure out why I was so passionately adamant about that? It amounts to idolatry. You cut down, crush, and burn idols.

When I first got married, I wanted to be a godly wife, so I read “the book.” A couple of years later, I wanted to be a godly mother, so I read “the book.” It was idolatry. Those books weren’t THE book. God’s already given us instructions and His Spirit to guide us! And my aim was off. I was desiring after this image presented me by man instead of aiming at the image of Christ.

It also happens in ministry all the time. Someone is “successful” and writes a book, and everyone wants to copy them instead of following Jesus and God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s unique, creative guidance for just their circumstance.

Our goals and our how-to should be established through prayer and the study of Scripture.