Direction 1. Always reckon that the best book to be read, the first book to be read and, often, the only book to be read, is God’s book.
Direction 2. Give no credit to that opinion which holds bookishness in religion in suspicion or contempt.
Direction 3. Do not simply be a collector of books. Retain them not for the number, beauty, antiquity, rarity, value, or mere possession of them.
Direction 4. Mortify your library. That which you shelve may be construed the measure of that which you approve. That which you retain for reference may be read unwittingly for life (see Acts 19:19).
Direction 5. Reckon that, contrary to popular expectation, those books lately written may be inferior to those of another day.
Direction 6. Judge the importance of a book, not by the author’s exuberance or the publisher’s notices, but by the relative weight assigned that topic in God’s book. Weak books struggle through the press with ease nowadays which, strangely, impresses the unwary.
Direction 7. Do not give, lend, or recommend a book which you have not read. Do not trust an author just because he has written helpfully once, or upon one subject.
Direction 8. Care for your books. Esteem them as friends, for there may be times when they will be the only friends you have!
Direction 9. (A) Always read widely. Avoid the accumulation of devotional material. Sermons are, generally, better heard than read. (B) Read with discrimination. Be quick to part company with that book which fails to promote sound doctrine, solid thought, balanced inference, experiential godliness, and esteem for Christ.
Direction 10. Never be found without a book nearby.
I have a peaceful study as a refuge from the hurries and noise of the world around me. The venerable dead are waiting in my library to entertain me and relieve me from the nonsense of surviving mortals. – Samuel Davies
From: “How We May Manage Our Libraries to the Best Advantage: Ten Directions,” by Tom Lyon, in The Banner of Truth, Issue 543 (December, 2008), pp. 15-17. Very lightly edited.
