D E V O T I O N A L R E A D I N G
A person may almost be known by the books he
reads. If he habitually reads bad books, we can
pretty safely conclude that he is a bad man; on
the other hand, if he habitually reads religious
books, we can reasonably presume that he is a
religious man. Why is this? It is because the
nature of a person's books is usually the nature of
his thoughts; and as a man thinks, so he is.
Consequently, our reading devotional literature is a great aid to our being
devotional. Too few, I fear, realize how important to our
spiritual advancement is the cultivation of a taste for devotional reading. As
a rule, those who have a taste for spiritual books and gratify that
taste prosper in the Lord, while those who have no relish for such books
labor at a great disadvantage. Some one has said that "he who begins a
devout life without a taste for spiritual reading may consider the
ordinary difficulties multiplied in his case by ten." The most spiritual men of
all ages have had a strong love for reading spiritual books. If, however,
my reader happens not to have such a taste or such a love, he should not
be discouraged, for it can be created and increased through perseverance
in reading devotional literature. Just as a person who does not relish
a certain food may learn to like it if he will persist in eating it, so a person
who does not have a taste for devotional books may come to enjoy them if
he will diligently and prayerfully peruse them.
Spiritual reading invigorates the intellect, warms the affections, and begets
