In Defense of My Library
Never in my life, as a Christian, did I ever dream I would have to write a defense for my books. Even libraries are under attack in this era of Christian anti-intellectualism. The building of my personal, theological library came later in life. I am not ashamed for the providence of God in timing nor in the development of my library that I believe is entrusted to me as a stewardship.
I grew up in a church-going family with some bookshelves, but they numbered so few that it is hardly noteworthy. My father read the newspaper and his professional journals. My mother read her professional journals and the Bible. I was not a reader in my youth.
When I began nearing college graduation, books on success in business began to accumulate in my library. Titles like, The Millionaire Next Door; What They Don’t Teach you at Harvard Business School; How to Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive; and God Wants You to Be Rich (written by a Jewish Economist) were even read more than once.
As a Wall Street investment broker, I actually had to read, daily. Reading had the potential for great financial reward. I read books, articles, journals, financial reports, and financial newspapers so I could drive luxury automobiles. I admit this mercenary attitude was hardly noble, but in my mind at the time, the ends justified the means.
It was the Bible which was the catalyst for disposal of my deplorable habits as a one-track bibliophile. Thereafter, it was the Bible that made me a reader of books with proper motives. God’s irresistible grace made me a reader of the Bible, which made me a reader of books that would help me to understand what I was reading. My purpose was to know the God/man and the volume of 66 books written about Him (Bible).
God has spoken to us (Heb 1:2). This is a most remarkable revelation. God’s Word is true (Ps 119:160; Jn 17:17), even truth for us to know and love (Jn 14:6). When my mother bought me a Bible for my eighteenth birthday, I did not know these things. Little did I know that the pretty girl I fancied in my young adulthood was filled with God’s Spirit and His Word. She still lets me buy books, today, and I appreciate her sacrifice in this regard.
Having a Christian spouse is the prized occupant because the gift of God is living in your house. Friends and extended family can meet you at the coffee house or diner, but the believer in Jesus is the one who insists that Jesus remains as a permanent guest. After all, He is Lord of all and rightly deserves a place in every home. So, it is your immediate family and the Spirit of Christ in your home.
There are some friends who also have a place in the Christian home. Their stay may be short-lived or permanent. For most Christians, these friends are brought to us by our brothers and sisters in Christ at the start of our walk with Jesus. Of course, I am speaking of books.
Books are friends. They, at least most of them, are written to help the reader. The best books are like the best Christians. They are the ones which point us most accurately and efficiently to Jesus Himself. Remember the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8? He was reading the prophet Isaiah, but he was not understanding what he was reading. Philip came alongside his chariot and helped him with interpretation. Good Christian books are like Philip, who was a friend and brother to the Ethiopian court official of Queen Candace.
As a babe in Christ, the new believer is subject to what others put into his or her hands. For me, the Spirit of God moved a Christian bookstore owner to gift me books from Dr. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (b. 1899–1981), preacher of the Gospel at Westminster Chapel in London during the decades that followed World War II. Others may feed on lesser authors which hardly compare. It must be the Lord that whets one’s appetite for truth and for truth best explained. In this, my gratitude for God’s gracious providence of cloth-bound friends never ceases.
Lloyd-Jones, although he was dead by the time I began reading him yet spoke to me through his published words. He also did a marvelous work in his communication to me. He had a friend he never met in person, although they were contemporaries for a season and knew about one another’s work for the kingdom. His friend’s name was Arthur Walkington Pink (b. 1886–1952). A.W. Pink became my friend by way of Lloyd-Jones, who quoted him. Both Pink and Lloyd-Jones occupied more and more space in my house. I loved my new friends. Together these 20th century fathers of the faith introduced me to those whose shoulders they were standing on. They had friends from the 17th century who were given the moniker, “The Puritans.”
Naturally, I began to allocate more time to certain names on my “friends” list. Thomas Watson (b. 1620–1686) enthralled me with his view to Jesus Christ like no other. It was like Christmas morning each time the Spirit revealed a publication from one of my friends that I did not know about.
My reading list has not come as a perfectly straight path. As the quality of my friends improved, I realized that some of my friends from the past were no longer worthy of my time investment, as they had been in earlier days. Whole genres of old friends were removed from my bookshelves and made to be a blessing for others who were beginning their journey with Jesus. This included Christian living books and “how to” books.
The “purification” of my library is a conscious effort in both discerning who needs to go and who is worthy of addition. The surprise discoveries at a thrift store or used bookstore remains a delight. If books are friends, then Christian books are one’s best friends. Not all books stay the night at my house, but there is always room at the inn for the worthies.
For those who judge a library of another as having too many friends…well, that man clearly has not learned to cultivate his library for the next season’s harvest, nor does he understand the friendship of divines from the past. I would never trade nor sell-out those who have ministered to me best. There is no limit on their number, nor should there be.
I have been in the libraries of men of God who clearly know what they are doing far better than me. They have my respect. Would you mock a man with a wine cellar that improves in quality and quantity with time?
Finally, there is no pride in having the best of friends. Each one is a gift of God’s Spirit and should be treated as such. After all, they give and give again, asking nothing of me because most of them lived between 100 and 500 years ago. My dear reader, only the worst of heretics and best of men are still in print. If you cannot discern the difference, maybe it is because you have a deficient library. As for me and my library, we will know and serve the Lord!
My friends have already heard the words, “Well done, good and faithful slave. Enter the joy of the Lord!” I am deeply indebted to those who penned more wisdom on one page than most living relationships have afforded me, as long as I have known said persons. This is why the better the books, the more valuable the friendships. Got good friends? Then read them like a book.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
June 18, 2021
