The Second Deepest Book

The deepest book ever written is the Bible. Though its basic message rises to the top like cream and is easily skimmed off even by a child, yet attempting to exhaust its observations on vital subjects — as the psychology of man, the purpose of life, and wisdom for daily living — is like trying to find the bottom of a bottomless well. This God-inspired book is exhaustless. I have been studying it for nearly thirty-five years, yet I regularly discover new gems and see old gems in new light.

The second deepest book I have read is The Emperor’s New Clothes. A king was deceived into pretending that he had a magic robe. The masses went along with his pretending and pretended that they could see his robe. The make-believe continued until a guileless child shouted, “Look, mom, the king isn’t wearing any clothes.” Now this isn’t just a story. It is an expose. For a book penned by a mortal, it shows profound insight into human nature. Indeed, one of man’s greatest weaknesses is his ability to pretend and go along with pretending. Men love to pretend they are on special ground with God because of some religious trifle, or feeling, or emotional experience. Do we want to know if we are clothed or not? Trust not the crowd. Let the Bible, as the guileless child, give us a good look-over.