Reading to Children: Building a Strong Foundation

This post originally appeared at https://wifamilycouncil.org/radio/reading-to-children-building-a-strong-foundation/

2024 | Week of August 19 | Radio Transcript #1580

I grew up in a family of readers. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad reading to me at bedtime.  I only vividly recall two books from my childhood, although I’m sure there were more.

One was Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories. Dad read “The Elephant’s Child” or “How the Elephant Got His Trunk” to me so many times I think the book naturally fell open to this story of how the young elephant’s insatiable curiosity took him to the shores of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River where he tangled with a crocodile who grabbed his then-stubby nose and pulled on it until it stretched into its current shape and length.  When The Elephant’s Child returned from his adventure, his trunk, which he discovers now has ever-so-many uses, became the envy of all the other elephants, who themselves made the trek to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River to have the crocodile pull their noses into useful trunks, too.

The other book was an illustrated Bible for children.  It was grey, thick and filled with colored pictures illustrating the great biblical accounts.  I loved looking at that Bible. My favorite story and illustration was Noah and the Ark. As an animal-loving child, I was fascinated by the idea of God causing all the animals on the earth to come two by two to this huge boat that Noah obediently built. I remember, too, a picture of Samson standing between the pillars of the Philistine temple with his arms extended pushing until the pillars broke and the temple fell. Mom and Dad read these and many other accounts from the Bible to me over and over again, always answering my incessant questions.

And what did I gain from these parent-child reading experiences?  I gained more than I can possibly relate, but here are a couple gains I believe are particularly noteworthy.

I gained a love for literature—good literature in particular.  My parents saw to it that the books we spent the most time with were quality writing.  To this day, a well-written book is a thing of beauty and joy for me. I learned to distinguish good literature from bad literature by a steady exposure to the good.

More importantly, I learned about God and His Word. I saw His provision, His love, His holiness, His commandments—and I never doubted that the stories I listened to as a child were real. My parents were establishing a firm foundation in me, an unshakeable faith that God is real and His Word is true. I learned to distinguish good from bad, right from wrong and truth from lies by a steady exposure to the good, the right and the truth.

Of course, this doesn’t mean I haven’t doubted or strayed. But I can honestly say, by God’s grace, over the years I’ve wrestled and worked through things and time and again have realized that those foundational lessons were absolutely critical in building my worldview.

Tragically, today I meet young people who say they are Christians who have little to no Christian worldview. They don’t know what they believe or why they believe it. A recent poll shows that self-identified American Christians hold some very unbiblical views. For instance, 72% argue that people are basically good, 66% say that ‘having faith’ matters more than which faith you pursue, 64% say that all religious faiths are of equal value, 58% believe that if a person is good enough, or does enough good things, they can earn their way into Heaven, and 57% believe in karma.[1]

How do people who say they are Christians come to these conclusions when God’s Word is extremely clear on these matters?  I believe it is a lack of a strong foundation. They do not know what God’s Word says about these issues. Maybe they didn’t have parents who took the time to repeatedly read Bible stories to them or who took them to Bible-preaching and Bible-teaching churches.

While there’s no guarantee in parenting, parents exposing their children to the Truth through Bible stories and good teaching provides a foundation that will be with them all their lives.  They develop a sensitivity that helps them discern lies,  enables them to filter the garbage they hear and see in the world, and increases dramatically the likelihood that they don’t buy the lies that result in an absolutely unbiblical worldview and results much too often in a ruined life.

Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles: can you think of a better investment than putting a little one on your lap and reading Bible stories to him or her?  I sure can’t!

For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling, reminding you that God, through the Prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

[1]https://julieroys.com/george-barna-survey-biblical-worldview/