I CAN see her now, standing at my front door as she was about to leave after seeking counsel concerning our theological students' wives' club. Her eyes flashed angrily as she said, "Books, books! That's all John thinks about— buying books. There's never anything left over for the house or for clothes, at least hardly any thing, when he's through buying books. Every month he comes home with new ones. I get to hate the sight of books."
My heart went out in pity to her. Perhaps she did have a genuine cause for complaint. Maybe her husband did spend recklessly on books when other household needs were more urgent—I don't know. But I pitied her because she did not understand the important role of books in the life of a minister.
"The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments" (2 Tim. 4:13), begged Paul of Timothy when he wrote to him from his prison home in Rome. That little appeal has always touched me. The elderly apostle was cold in the Roman winter and his cloak would be such a comfort to him, but more than his cloak he yearned for the comfort of books.
Books are tools to the minister. They are food to him too. Please don't begrudge them!
If you want your husband to be a good preacher and teacher, ever showing off the facets of truth in a new light, encourage him to read. Take pride in helping him build a good library. Be interested in the books in your home, for your own sake as well as for his. The making of a library is a fascinating thing as one gathers valuable books—commentaries and dictionaries, expository writings, aids to Bible study, to nature study, books of travel, biographies, histories, et cetera. Books are friends and helpers, counselors and guides. Let's have plenty of them—of the right kind, of course.
But we need a balance even in acquiring a library. The numerous book catalogs that come through the mail may tempt us to invest in books that appear attractive but may have very little value.
Try borrowing from a library or friend (please return, however—ministers by and large are notorious for forgetting borrowed books), so that you can assess the value and see whether the book is worth bookshelf space or not. There may be nothing of real importance in a book, or there may be so little that you can easily make notes of what is useful, or copy passages and place them in the file; but if the book has much that will prove useful in sermon preparation and the carrying out of ministerial duties, by all means invest in it.
The local conference usually has a plan to assist its workers in purchasing both books and needed equipment, and that is certainly some thing to be taken advantage of and to be thankful for.
In planning your home, give the housing of your books careful thought. Have them where they are accessible and organize them according to subject matter for quick and easy reference.
Usually the best place for books is the study or den. This should be located in as quiet a part of the house as possible, and should be furnished with a desk and typewriter, filing cabinet and storage space, as well as book shelves. It should be the aim of the minister's wife to make this room as workable and pleasant as possible, not only to encourage efficiency but to make an atmosphere conducive to study and meditation.