*** This post is the first in a four-part series.

Summer is a great time to encourage yourself, your kids, or grandkids to read more. One thing my mom did early on to instill a life-long love of reading in my sister and me involved summer vacations, the library, and a little ice cream shop named Daniel’s. Each year, our out-of-school routine began with a weekly trip to the public library where we took out several books of our choosing. If we read one book that week we got a small ice cream cone, two earned a large, and three or more a banana split. I went for the banana split every week and I read a lot of books each summer. That simple incentive paid rich dividends to the point that today I would buy you an ice cream to let me read! Or, if you prefer, we could negotiate an alternative at Rita’s, DQ, Yogo Factory, or Starbucks.

Christian families, especially, should care deeply about reading and encouraging literacy. Why? Because reading well is directly related to knowing and handling the Bible correctly. God choose to communicate with humans in ways that include a divinely inspired book. If we don’t like to read, it will be difficult to study or think deeply about what the Bible says. Further, we will have little discernment or skill to judge the teachings of those that claim to speak for God.

One dear father I knew went to his grave having read only one book in his life, a book about Greg Brady of The Brady Bunch. To this day, four of his five children have little interest in church and show surprising susceptibility to error. They are not comfortable with reading (especially classic literature), so the Bible is largely an unknown treasure that they think can only be interpreted with wooden literalism. They know nothing about the historical grammatical method of interpretation, Scripture’s various literary genres, or how different parts of the Bible appeal to different parts of us. For example, they do not know how the psalms appeal to our emotions, the letters of Paul to our minds, apocalyptic literature like Revelation to our imagination, or the prophets to our will.

For the next month, I want to focus on reading. This article will serve as an introduction of sorts. Next week will give practical encouragement on “How to Enjoy Reading More.” Week three will be on “Reading the Classics to Your Kids (or grandkids!)” and week four will make the case to our teens for “Why Reading is So Important.” The goals of this four-week series will be to pass on the joy of reading, and build kids who seek out and lead spiritually healthy families, love Scripture, and know how to handle it correctly.

Homes that prioritize reading, especially ones where parents snuggle with their children, form natural attachments and safeguard against many harmful things, including soul-killing busyness and too much media consumption. Moreover, the discipline and joy of reading is directly related to growing kids that are culturally literate and appreciate the past, including classic literature.

Exposure to great books can guard against non-classical and toxic aberrations of Christianity, whether in seemingly harmless forms like Joel Osteen, or hideous ones like Westboro Baptist.

For all of us, reading expands our view of the world and decreases the likelihood that we will apply “Bible verse Band-Aids” to harsh realities. Reading classic fiction and non-fiction increases empathy and insight into human nature. Even fantasy and fairy tales can make us long for a better world and inspire great deeds. Additionally, a knowledge of history and tradition can provide perspective when our leaders fall or are exposed.

Will you join me this summer? If so, what is one specific, positive thing you can do to encourage yourself or those you love to enjoy reading more? Your answer to and follow-though on this question has the power to change lives forever.

Also, if you have any specific things you have done or observed that motivate others to love great books, let me know at gregausten@comcast.net and I will include them in upcoming posts.