Does every book have to expressly mention Christ?

     Every day I strive to teach my children the Bible is a living and active, life-giving book that’s essential to prioritize. We delve into exciting stories of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Joshua watching the walls of Jericho crumble around him, and Daniel pacing a lion’s den unharmed. We learn that God is the one who parts the Red Sea, defeats the enemy, and seals the mouths of lions. We learn this same God will also deliver us.

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       Why do we work so hard to teach our children truths about God and then allow them to fill their minds with books that fall far short of God’s glory? We must not. The chief question I ask myself when evaluating books for my children is does the book exalt Christ? Would I be embarrassed to caught reading it if He walked into the room? While it’s easier for me to grab whatever secular book is available on the library shelf, it is worth me going to a little extra trouble to steer my children toward Christian books.

      Does every book have to explicitly mention Christ? Of course not! I regularly read all varieties of secular books. When we need to research an animal for a science project or study an autobiography of a children’s author, we typically turn to the library instead of the Christian bookstore. 

     We also let the kids read for plain old fun! Beautifully written fiction that is not expressly Christian still moves me to both laughter and tears. I love to share with my children powerfully written literature that resonates with the human soul. If we consistently teach our children, they will gradually learn to use a Christian worldview to evaluate the characters and plot in all books. As long as the book satisfies my criteria for moral appropriateness, we read it.

     Although we read anything appropriate, we seek Christian books, It's worth it to this mom to put in a little extra leg work providing my kids with plenty of Christian reading material.

     How do you guide your children into finding wholesome books? Please share in the comments.

I'm linking this post up at Grace & Truth.