Christians are bound in all conscience to discourage the reading of corrupted, subversive literature, while promoting wholesome, upright printed material. Just what part evil literature has played in the present moral breakdown throughout the world will never be known till men are called forth to answer to a holy God for their unholy deeds, but it must be very great indeed! For thousands of young people, the first doubt about God and the Bible has begun with the reading of some evil book.
We ought to realize the power of ideas. Printed ideas are as powerful as spoken ones. They may have a “longer fuse,” but their explosive power is as great.
The Bible teaches us to expect to answer for every idle word (Matt. 12:3636But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36)). How much more severely shall we be held to account for every evil word we imbibe, whether printed or spoken.
The desire to appear broad-minded is one not easy to overcome, for it is rooted in the flesh and is simply a none-too-subtle form of pride. In the name of broad-mindedness many a Christian home has been opened to literature that sprang, not from a broad mind, but from a little mind, corrupted and polluted with evil!
We require our children to wipe their feet before entering the house. Dare we demand less of the literature we allow in our homes?
Gems From My Reading (adapted)