Books and Distraction

In response to a reader named Simon, last Monday I wrote a post called Do we really need another book on Christian mysticism? Here’s how I ended that post:

Now, I haven’t addressed the other side of Simon’s question, which has to do with concerns that books about the experience of God could actually be a distraction from seeking the direct experience itself. This is an important question, and will deserve a post of its own in the near future.

So now, to address that “other side” of the question. Are books on Christian mysticism actually a distraction from living a mystical (that is to say, Christ-centered) life? And the most honest answer I can come up with is this: while they are not meant to be, and they don’t have to be, distractions, they certainly can be.