The Importance of Reading as a Family

During this time of year, Alex (my wife), Logan (our 8-year-old son), and I spend a lot of time reading as a family. Of course, we’re always reading for fun, and we’re in scripture year around, but we tend to get even more aggressive with our reading plans during the advent season. Currently, we spend our mornings reading the Bible and we end Logan’s day lighting candles and making our way through the liturgical readings and prayers. However, as important as scripture is to our family I believe that we are equally shaped by the fiction that we read together, which is currently Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

This may sound wrong to many Christians. How can we be shaped equally by our reading of scripture as by secular works? Let’s start with a specific consideration: reading the Bible is not a one-and-done activity. A Christian will spend his entire life reading scripture. We revisit the stories repeatedly and often. Additionally, reading scripture is not the only habit that a Christian is called to cultivate. We are also called to prayer and community. I also believe that we need to build virtue and devotion through the various spiritual disciplines (I’m not going to get into the spiritual disciplines for this post, but I highly recommend Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster if you’re looking to learn more). However, it’s these three things that are really at the center of Christian devotion: scripture, prayer, and community. The truth is that I don’t believe that any of these things actually transform me, though. Jesus is the source of transformation, and it’s through these means that he means to accomplish his work.

As my family goes through the liturgical year, we visit God’s word and consider what it means in light of Jesus. Last week, we read the story of Jacob’s Ladder, which provided me an opportunity to explain that Jesus was heaven come down to earth, the fulfillment of that vision. It’s only through the incarnation that we start to understand what this ladder represents. Heaven came down to be with us in the form of Jesus. These are important moments not only for Logan as he starts to grasp the faith that he’s inherited but for me as well as I learn to better articulate and develop the faith that I’ve had for more than three decades. Reading together makes this possible.

Is it possible that secular literature has just as a profound impact as reading scripture? I believe it does. If I read the Harry Potter series through in its entirety each year then that repetition would start to have significant impact on my worldview. It’s important to realize that art and entertainment are not only shaped by its creators but it shapes its audience too, especially if the audience consumes it in a way that resembles devotion. This is why we should always consider our consumption of news and media and why its important to limit our exposure to it within reason. We don’t want to be unaware of the important things going on in our city, state, country, or world, but we also need to cultivate behaviors that help us contemplate, think, and pray about our lives so that we might lead Jesus-centered lives. This ability takes practice and is unachievable if we’re always glued to the words of pundits who are stuck in an endless news cycle. Stories and narratives matter, especially the ones that we repeatedly tell ourselves.

This is why literature matters. Reading helps us understand the world. This is true for both fiction and nonfiction. Karen Swallow Prior goes even further in her book On Reading Well, in which she argues that literature not only helps us understand and navigate the world but reading also has the ability to cultivate virtue. Logan and I have spent much of his life reading together, including countless picture books, the Narnia series, White Fang, and several Roald Dahl books. Each one has presented opportunities to discuss the goodness of creation and humanity as well as the brokenness around us. As we discuss these topics, it’s my hope that Logan cultivates virtues such as courage, hope, and patience.

The truth is that Jesus spent a fair amount of his time telling stories, which are called parables. We tend to think that we understand these stories perfectly even though his original audience was confused. Yes, we have additional insight on what he was saying, because we’re on this side of the resurrection. Jesus’ original audience didn’t have the same understanding that we have. However, we should refrain from stripping all of the story from Jesus’ parables. They are not theological treatises or statements. Boiling them down to a three-point sermon does an injustice to Jesus’ words. Reading the parables should be like reading a Flannery O’Connor short story. We should be left disoriented and full of questions that aren’t answered for us.

Most adults lose their love of fiction as they get older. I don’t think that this was the case in earlier generations, but the truth is that we clump reading fiction with other forms of entertainment. When deciding between picking up a book or turning on the television, the tv will win for most people most of the time. Reading a novel requires something from its audience, while screens provide much easier content to enjoy. Additionally, we are taught that utility and efficiency are king. We are not allowed to waste our time on frivolities–play is strictly forbidden. At the same time, when we need a break from our day we pursue escapism over substance. All of the work required from us drains us. We rush from thing to thing throughout our days, and in the end we are left exhausted, with just enough energy to sit on the couch and turn to one of our many screens.

The truth is that we will never cultivate virtue by pursuing utility and efficiency. The market doesn’t build temperance, wisdom, or temperance. If we are looking to make the biggest impact in our businesses or even ministries as we run, we will be too busy to become like Jesus. The only way to be more virtuous is by making these intangible attribute concrete. We need to see them exhibited in others that we admire. We also need to see where they’re missing and ask ourselves what would have happened if virtue had been present. The best place to start is by picking up a work of fiction and living vicariously through the characters in the story. We need contemporary authors and voices from past ages to help us understand these timeless characteristics. As we begin to understand what fortitude (as opposed to stubbornness) looks like in various situations then we will be better equipped to live out that particular virtue in our own lives. With all of this talk of virtue, I must make one thing clear before continuing: I believe that virtue without Jesus is worthless. I would rather be a wretched sinner redeemed by Christ than a self-reliant man who shows virtue.

Considering all of this, my family spends a lot of time reading, and as we read we critically engage the various texts. We read about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and think about what life was like for them. We also ask ourselves what it means for us today. However, we cannot try to translate the message to today without first immersing ourselves in their world. It is a mistake to jump straight to application; we must let the story have its way with us, impacting us on its own terms.

We should not limit ourselves to scripture. We must read widely and deeply. As somebody who reads aloud as a family ,we create space to explore the themes that they present. When we ask ourselves questions about following the rules while reading through Harry Potter we can start to grasp a more nuanced understanding of authority. Rather, I’m forced to explain to Logan what authority is–it’s a social structure that is put in place to maintain order–and what it isn’t–intrinsically good and virtuous. Authority is neither a thing to reject nor is it a thing to praise. However, as a Christian we are grateful for order because it’s better than chaos. We must be careful not to put too much trust in our authority figures and structures though. They do not replace Jesus. Civic authorities and structures are temporal and will one day pass away, like dust in the wind. Consequently, at times we will need to go against authority, but determining how and when to do so requires wisdom.

This is a complicated topic. The world is not black and white. There is goodness reflected even in the most abject environment, even if that goodness is difficult to spot. Likewise, evil is never very far. Brokenness appears throughout all creation and our most trusted friends may commit serious sins or betray our trust. Countless leaders have committed grievous sin, some of whom have even been prominent people of faith.

I do not know how to prepare Logan for this world. I can provide some good guidelines such as be truthful and work hard, things that are indeed commendable. However, it won’t take long for him to realize that my guidelines just aren’t helpful in many of the situations where he’ll find himself. Additionally, these guidelines won’t be helpful when he eventually transgresses against them. He will be crushed by these hefty expectations, and the answer won’t be for him just to work harder. God knows that we are natural transgressors–we don’t do what we ought to do. So, God gives us scripture, which includes rules and guidelines but more than anything else is made up primarily of narrative and poetry.

When Alex and I read to Logan, we create room for him to ask real-life questions, presenting him with situations that are similar to what he’ll see as he gets older. He can start to grapple with nuance and conduct. We create spaces to be critical of the various characters while always being mindful of grace. We ask him questions pertaining to the reading, teaching him to pause and ask similar questions in real life. For now, I’m grateful that most of these conversations are rooted in the books that we read. It won’t always be that way, but we will always be a family of readers.