THE BLESSING OF BOOKS - Some Thoughts on Books and Reading
By Ronald Nugent
I. Why Should We Read?
He who increases books, increases wisdom.
Jewish Proverb
I read somewhere recently that a survey showed that ninety-nine percent of Christians regularly watch television while just five percent regularly read books. Although I do not recall the source of the figures, my experience suggests that they are probably accurate. As a lover of books I confess that I am somewhat saddened that so few of my brothers and sisters in Christ are enjoying the pleasures and blessings to be found in a good book. If you are not a reader of books, you are missing one of the great joys of life.
It would seem that the Apostle Paul was a lover of books. In what is probably the last letter that he ever wrote, Paul instructed Timothy, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13). We can understand why Paul, locked in a cold prison cell, wanted his cloak, but why did he also ask for his books?
The books of ancient time were usually scrolls made of papyrus, while parchments were made of the skins of animals. Some suggest that these scrolls and parchments which Paul so desperately wanted were parts of the Old Testament. This is possible but I think that, because Paul usually called the Old Testament “the Scriptures,” it is more likely that it is other books from his library that he was wanting.
We are not told why Paul was so keen to have his books with him, but we can make some guesses. Books can be good friends. They can provide comfort and counsel; they can lift up the downcast; they can strengthen faith and hope. Paul was in prison awaiting execution and he was missing his friends. And books can be good teachers. Though Paul’s life was drawing to its close, he was still learning. He wanted even his last days to be learning days.
This is the first in a series of articles on our website encouraging Christians to follow Paul’s example and be readers of books. In this first article I want to give you some reasons why you should read. In the second article I will suggest how you should read, and in the third I will suggest what you can read. First, then, in the midst of busy (and sometimes hectic) lives, why bother with books? I want to propose five reasons why Christians should be readers.
First, with books we can spend time reflecting on our lives. Whenever I ask someone how they are, nine times out of ten they reply, “Busy.” That was not so twenty years ago. I believe that our lives have become too busy. In the words of the poet, William Henry Davies:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
The more busy our lives, the more we need books. Books slow us down. They force us to think. The best books are not means of escaping reality, but aids to understanding ourselves and our world. Of course, books can be read at speed, but that is not the sort of reading I am talking about. The reading which I am recommending is leisurely and meditative. It is important not only that we read, but that we also meditate on what we have read. Reading Christians are usually thinking Christians.
Secondly, in books we can learn from the great teachers of the past and present. Among God’s many gifts to His people are teachers. As Paul reminded the young Christians in Ephesus, “He gave . . . pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Though living at the beginning of the Twenty-first Century, we can sit at the feet of Augustine of Hippo in the Fourth Century or John Calvin in the Sixteenth. Though living at the ends of the earth, we can visit All Souls Church in London and listen to John Stott, or Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia and learn from Philip Ryken. Reading Christians are usually growing Christians.
Thirdly, in books we can witness the lives of great Christians of the past. One of the strongest incentives to faithful Christian living is the example of those who have gone before us. In the memoirs and biographies of Christians and in their published diaries and letters we can watch them at work and at prayer, in their homes and in their churches, during times of blessing and times of hardship. Personally, I have found that nothing so rebukes my sin or strengthens my faith as the stories of the Christian men and women of former generations.
Fourthly, by books we can protect ourselves from pollution by the world. Over one hundred years ago, in words that proved prophetic, the great American statesman and orator, Daniel Webster, warned:
If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be. If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy. If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of corrupt and licentious literature will. If the power of the gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.
Let’s be honest. For the most part the counsel of our TV sets is the counsel of the wicked. When TV in the average Australian home is turned on for seven hours a day, is it any wonder that our nation is in a state of spiritual and moral stupor? When the average Australian teenager will have seen 350,000 commercials (that is, one-and-a-half years of eight-hour workdays) by the time he finishes high school, is it any wonder that we have a generation that puts more value on material possessions than personal integrity? When ninety-nine percent of Christians regularly watch TV while only five percent regularly read books, is it any wonder that there is little obvious difference between the church and world?
The old hymn counsels us: “Take time to be holy.” Reading takes time, but it is time well spent. An hour spent reading the Letters of Samuel Rutherford will benefit the soul more than an hour spent watching CSI Miami. Do not misunderstand me. I also enjoy watching TV, especially detective stories. I am not saying that watching TV is always sinful. But it is sometimes sinful, sometimes harmful, and often not helpful. Do your really want to be holy? Reading Christians are usually holy Christians.
Fifthly, through books we can minister to others. We can lead them to Christ and help them to grow as Christians. Not many of us are teachers or preachers but all of us can give or lend good books. Books are not just for reading but also for lending. Long ago the Jewish rabbi, Judah of Regensburg, wrote: “If a man has two sons, one of whom dislikes lending his books, while the other is eager, a man should leave all his library to the second, even if he is younger.”
As a young man in my early twenties I viewed the Bible as a lot of superstitious nonsense until a friend lent me a book called Layman’s Answer by E.M. Blaiklock. In it Blaiklock, who was Professor of Classics at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, defended the Bible against the attacks of liberal criticism. I did not like the book, and I told my friend so. I did not like it because it exploded my objections and undermined my prejudices and left me with nowhere to hide from the risen Lord Jesus. That book was used by God to draw me to Himself.
A year or so later, as a young Christian, I was suffering severe depression, when I noticed on the bookshelf of another friend a book called Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I took it off the shelf and one chapter heading caught my attention. “Maybe there is help for me here,” I thought. And there was. As a wise physician of souls, Dr Lloyd-Jones diagnosed the cause of my trouble and prescribed the cure. In just half an hour I was lifted out of my despondency and my happiness was restored. I now keep spare copies of Spiritual Depression in my study to give to others. I thank God, not only for those two books, but also for the two friends who lent them to me.
Those of us who speak and read English are blessed with a rich heritage of Christian literature. But of what use is this great heritage if we do not read? As Mark Twain put it: “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” With a wealth of good Christian books available to us, there is no reason whywe should remain ignorant of what we believe, uncertain of why we believe, or unable to share our faith with others. Reading Christians are often strong Christians.
Copyright 2000, 2004 by R.G. Nugent.