Considering the number of books which many of ns own, shouldn't we be better Christians? Gary Brady takes a fresh look at reading habits.
More is not necessarily better is an oft forgotten adage when it comes to the subject of books. If Solomon wrote, 'Of making many books there is no end,' and 'much study wearies the body', nearly three thousand years ago, what would he say today! What is the result of our embarrassment of riches? Does the number of books currently available to the average British believer - way in excess of anything previous generations have known - make him a better Christian? With more books on prayer, do we pray any better? With more books on holiness, are we any holier? With far more teaching available, are we any wiser?
Honesty compels us to answer in the negative. How often do the lives of Christians from less affluent cultures, or less affluent times, put us to shame? Where are we going wrong?
UCCF and IVP have recently expressed concern about a rising generation of students who do not read! Obviously, all the books in the world will be of no help if no-one buys them, or if we buy them but do not read them. Back in the sixties, the author Anthony Burgess noted that the owning of a book had become a substitute for reading it. A recent magazine for serious Christians had an article entitled Making an Assault on those Unread Books. Undoubtedly, some Christians are guilty of treating books like ornaments rather than resources, but I believe there is a more subtle problem which needs tackling.
TASTERS, SWALLOWERS OR CHEWERS?
In one of his Essays the Renaissance philosopher Francis Bacon made an oft quoted remark: 'Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested'. The problem, it seems to me, is that there is far too much tasting and swallowing, but very little chewing and digesting. In days gone by many believers, and some ministers, had very few books - The Bible, Pilgrim's Progress and Foxe's Book of Martyrs formed the complete Library for some. (This was the reason for Mrs Spurgeon's Book Fund. A tradition carried on by the Banner of Truth and others, especially overseas where similar circumstances still prevail.)
When you have slender means you usually take greater care over purchases, and make greater use of what you have. This means that in the past people often bought the best books they could and read them again and again. Books like Luther's Bondage of the Will, and Matthew Henry's Commentary, got into the blood of devout believers, strengthening and blessing them enormously. They, in turn, were a great blessing to others. Yes, previous generations (and our contemporaries in certain parts of the world) did miss out on the tasting and the swallowing leading to greater breadth, but what about the depth? Surely they excelled (and do excel).
COLLECT THE CLASSICS
Ruskin divided books into two classes, 'Books of the hour' and 'Books of all time'. Christian publishers confirm that newly written works tend to sell well for the first six months or so, then fade. A few classics go on selling month after month, year after year. This is encouraging - the classics continue to sell. The important thing, however, is that they are thoroughly read.
How can we ensure that we are not guilty of substituting ownership for readership? What about the following procedure:
1. Draw up a list of 10 'classics,' that all believers should read at least once. Some candidates for inclusion: Augustine's Confessions; Pilgrim's Progress; The Mystery of Providence; John Owen on Mortification; The Autobiography of Spurgeon, or someone similar; D'Aubigne on The Reformation; Ryle on Holiness; The Screwtape Letters, Hallesby or Bounds on Prayer; Packer's Knowing God.
2. Make a specific reading plan that will get you through those books on your list of classics, but which you have not yet read, in two years.
3. Once they are all read, re-read one every six months
4. Read a small portion of one of these classics every day.
5. Ration yourself to just one or two new books every six months. Remember that some new books will become classics, and others are reprints of those that already are. Packer's new book on the Puritans and Volume 2 of the life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones look like being contenders. Be flexible.
When taking up a new book, try to decide if it is for tasting, swallowing or chewing. We are too civil to books. 'For a few golden sentences we will turn over and actually read a volume of four or five hundred pages' (Emerson). How much time is wasted trying to chew what is only fit for swallowing or trying to digest what was only intended to tickle our taste buds. Publishers, how about labelling your books, taste, swallow or chew?
PRUNE YOUR COLLECTION
My wife is welcome to make any new addition to her wardrobe, provided it replaces something already owned. In fairness, I ought to do the same thing with my library. Pepys, the diarist, determined the size of his library and, once it was full, bought no more. He was obviously more interested in the look of his shelves than in the state of his mind. His policy could be adapted, however. Set a size for your library and determine, once that size is reached, to get rid of a book you already own every time you purchase a new one. This will refine your collection. There may be some regrets perhaps but deal slowly with the tasters, and eventually the volumes only meant for swallowing, will give way to those you will want to return to again and again. Less can have more value and small can be exquisite. Time, money and energy are God-given resources and our books consume large amounts of each. We have a responsibility to ensure that these resources are invested wisely and not just frittered away.
