As told by Mark Arens, owner of ThumbPeople, Inc.
We all know that reading is a vital life skill and certainly a gateway to all manner of knowledge -- it's no wonder that we can hardly wait to expose our children to the written word as early as possible.
Surely the Bible is the very best of any Christian children story and the best of the best books for children I can think of - so off I went reading away. Researchers confirmed that babies hear fairly well from about the midpoint of pregnancy on and can well recognize their mother's voice even before they are born. Chinese researcher, Dr Kisilevsky of Zhejiang University in China tested 60 babies at term. They were played a two-minute audiotape of their own mother reading a poem, and another 30 babies were played the voice of a female stranger reading the poem. The researchers found that the little ones responded to their own mother's voice with heart-rate acceleration, and to the stranger's voice with a heart-rate deceleration. The responses lasted during the two-minute tape as well as for at least two minutes after the offset of the voices.* Yes, they were listening to their mothers all along.
So with this knowledge we are armed with all of the motivation we need to ensure that what our little ones are taking in aligns with the eternal values we seek to pass on to them both before and after they are born.
Without ever asking, new parents are often given a multitude of "suggested titles" of the best books for children or "must haves" for the yet to be avid readers. Many are a joy to read and you can well see why others would want your little one to hear you read what are considered the best books for children.
Some of the books others are working so hard to promote are geared entirely at one aim: to make them as brilliant as possible as soon as possible!
Knowledge, education and wisdom are important but it doesn't mean we should value intelligence above all else. As a Christ-following parent I know that the ideal that is most cherished in our faith is to encourage our children in the way that they should go, to show them the love of the Father, and to speak truth to them in love. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are called to go forth and make Baby Einsteins.
I do think it's a gift to encourage the love of learning in our children and use everyday occurrences as teachable moments - but it is not what my heart cries for. At night as we pray over our kids we are not pleading that the Lord please let them have unimaginably high IQs and be the top of their class throughout each of their school years. Instead our prayer is that their hearts would beat wildly for Jesus, that they'd come to know and love Him at an early age, and that the book they would love the most would be the very Word of God.
To aim for godliness over braininess is a charge that one has to approach with great intentionality in this culture. Over and over we will hear the ever growing list of the best books for children. Many of them we'll read to our children and many we won't. But what we have to be mindful of above the content of our children's bookcases is the content of our motivation. Are we trying to blend with a world that is not our home or are we trying to be an influence to take as many people with us to the eternal home the Lord has prepared for all who accept Him as Lord.
Our aim is to be wise - not knowledgeable. Yes, there is a difference. Sometimes we think we already "know" everything but still can't figure out what to do next. That's because we lack wisdom - which in its biblical form, is the only sure foundation on which we can make any sound move. So the next time you're looking for the perfect book to choose from the latest list of the best books for children or the latest best-selling self-help book for yourself, ask the giver of all wisdom for a little help and direction. He promises to offer a page-turning, riveting approach to life that you won't want to put down.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."
James 1:5
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