A Righteous Materialism?

A classic article from my favorite Christian magazine, Discipleship Journal, made me question just how attached I am to material things. No, I'm not talking about the house or the car. Granted, losing such things would pose a great challenge to anybody. What I'm talking about is my Bible and all my references. I'm pretty attached to those. I'd survive, but it's difficult to imagine life without them. I think I'd be counting the days till I could replace my wonderful Christian library!

But let's consider the alternative. What if I could care less that I lost my Bible or some references? What would that say about me as a Christian? Would it mean I'm not using them anyway? That I don't feel it's important to read and study the Word of God?

I guess that, as is true with so much of theology and life in general, there must be a balance. A balance such that 1) we're not so attached to studying the Bible that it becomes more important than the One who wrote it, and 2) we don't rely on ourselves to remember what we think the Bible says, or even neglect it altogether.

Where do you think you fall on a scale of one to ten? Where would God rate you?