You read what you are !

I was at another parent-teacher meeting.  Tonight, the discussion topic was a book that only half of us had read.

I hadn’t read it.  And I’ll admit, I was slightly prejudiced against the book and the authors.

But listening to one mom, I thought it sounded like a fabulous book on parenting.

Hearing another, though, I was afraid it might be filled with too many rules and not enough grace.

I laughed as I concluded that you could easily think you were hearing reviews of ten very different books when in a room full of ten moms who were talking about only one book.

But as each mom jumped into the discussion, sharing what really struck her in what she’d read, I realized something else: each of these women had read this book through her own “filter.”  Each of them had read the pages of this book in light of their heart perspective.

The woman who memorized Scripture and spoke with His Words on her tongue had seen all of the biblical principles: she couldn’t say enough good about the impact on her heart and life of the verses the authors had shared.

The mom who obviously lived her life according to some external rules read the black and white that she saw the authors set forth, and cheered for no gray areas in which to get muddled.

The wife who felt a bit like she was going it on her own in some areas read about this amazing family and wanted her husband to read the book so they could do everything this family was doing.

The woman who had been skeptical thoughtfully read the why’s and realized some of these principles could be helpful in making life easier if applied to her own parenting.

Based upon who they were, each reader came away with a very different perspective on the book and its main points.

As a reader, it’s an interesting thought to consider.  Is this why, when I read a book looking for its good points, I rarely come up lacking?

As a writer, it’s an almost scary fact.  Is this why, no matter what you write, someone can always read it and find something to pick apart?

But as a one who wants to live my life according to The Word, something else hit home for me.  They say “you are what you read”, but it seems you also read what you are.  Which comes first?  And through what and Whose lenses will I read?