Random Quotes & Articles to Provide Food for Thought
It is surprising how much a few hours spent with the right person can change one’s thinking. One day it was my privilege to be the chauffeur for A. W. Tozer and to spend several hours with him. He had already influenced me deeply through his books and editorials. I had been impressed with his wide knowledge of the Christian classics, so when my opportunity came, I quizzed him about his reading habits and the books that had influenced him the most.
“Don’t ever read a good book,” he said, to my surprise. “You don’t have time. You will never read all of the best books. For goodness’ sake, don’t waste your time on a good one!” He spoke with an explosive conviction. “There is a difference between having read widely and having read well. I would much rather be well-read than widely read. That is why I often reread an old work rather than search for a new one. If it is a great book, it deserves more than one reading.”
Decades have passed since that conversation, yet the wisdom of that slight little man is still poignantly impressive to me. It is not possible to read even all the best books, and the number of books one can know with any thoroughness is hauntingly small. So each book that we choose is of great importance. The popular titles will come to have less of a hold on us, and some classics will beckon us to read them again and again. What matters is not the quantity of material that we read, but the truth we gain with understanding.
— This Day With the Master, Dennis F. Kinlaw, June 10
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