What harm is there in these things, do you say? If they have occupied your heart, and made you slight God, that is the harm. This is a test to our souls all through the day. It is not a question of whether a thing is right or wrong, but what savor have the things of Christ to our souls in it? It may be a very small thing. If we find the reading of a book makes the manifestation of Christ to become less precious to us, we are away from God, and we cannot tell where the next step may take us. Satan often cheats us in this way.
The soul is put to the test day by day, whether the things that are revealed by God in Christ have so much power over us as to engage the heart; but if other things have come in between, when we want enjoyment of the things of Christ, we shall not have it, and this will show us how far we are away from Him.
If anything comes in, and takes the freshness of Christ from our soul, take heed! For if other things are catered for, when you have opportunity for the things of Christ, you will have no taste for them.