I was scrolling through a list of trending bestseller romance novels when a specific title caught my eye. I skimmed the synopsis, convinced that I had finally landed on a popular bestseller that might be worth the time to read. I was about to order it from the library when something about the wording forced me to read the summary over again. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was the lack of female pronouns.
It was a gay romance.
Books that favor and promote the LGBTQ+ community have become a trending novelty. And they’ve already encroached into children’s literature. A quick Google search of “kids books with gay characters” yielded hundreds of results. Colorful images of kids swinging hands between two daddies, playing in the park with two mommies, and painting the world the colors of the pride rainbow were the first images that splashed across my screen.
When reading these stories, we see characters who love each other, share with the needy, give to the poor, help the unfortunate, and care for others. God’s common grace is evident in many of the messages taught in these children’s books, and those qualities are admirable. But mixed in with the beauty are the lies. Lies about marriage, family, and gender. Lies about the establishment of male and female roles. And lies about God’s sovereignty and authority.
Surrounded by a culture that promotes tolerance, inclusivity, and empathy, it’s easy to forget what these children’s stories are actually promoting, and what they’re subtly teaching. Little minds can’t easily decipher between truth and lies. Picture books like these introduce confusing ideas and affirm wrong agendas.
Little minds are impressionable. Feed them lies, and that will become their normality. Teach them truth, and that will support their foundation.
What They’re Promoting
As our culture has confused the roles of men and women, promoted effeminate qualities in men, and prized traditionally male characteristics in women, our families, churches, and children have been hit the hardest. Stories that promote the gay agenda are not helping children adjust to a “new normal”. They’re breathing dangerous lies that have been around for thousands of years. Ever since the serpent deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, humans have chosen their own ways.
And thinking they can choose their own gender is simply another form of rebellion.
Don’t let your kids read books that promote the gay agenda even if the story, illustrations, and characters seem to uphold honorable qualities. In a world of confused genders, we don’t need more pride. We need the truth. And children’s picture books that cloud truth and distort reality are breathing lies into the minds of toddlers, children, teens, and adults alike.
Read stories to your kids with traditional gender roles. Read stories of courageous dads and heroic moms. Read stories where men are men and women are women. These are the stories your kids need. Not Jacob’s New Dress and When Aidan Became a Brother. Not My Princess Boy and Mommy, Mama, and Me.
These are published books that culture recommends for toddlers, children, and teens. The ideas of books stained with these lies should repulse us, and rightly so. They are mocking God’s sovereignty, claiming superiority over God’s biological design, and corrupting the very foundation of the family.
It’s just one more tactic of the devil, and our kids don’t need this poison.
What They’re Calling For
Ultimately, stories where the LGBTQ+ community is normalized, rationalized, and viewed as good are teaching kids that this lifestyle is valuable for marriage and family. But it’s not Biblically right. And we as Christians know that it shouldn’t be normal.
We should be the first to advocate for traditional nuclear families and the presence of correct gender roles in the stories we read. We should be the ones requesting truth-filled literature for our libraries to order, purchasing these books for ourselves, and encouraging our children to read stories that are true, good, and beautiful.
Kids need books where the men are courageous, but also gentle. They need stories where women are loving, but valiantly heroic. Not stories that promote a skewed view of reality. But stories that show the separate sexes for what they are: God’s original creation, His perfect design, His glorious vision for Biblical masculinity and Biblical femininity.
Let’s read stories with men like High King Peter, Edmund Pevensie, Frodo Baggins, and Samwise Gamgee. Women like Lucy Pevensie, Elizabeth Bennet, and Jane Eyre. Men and women, boys and girls, battling against darkness. Fighting. Bleeding. Dying.
And winning.
Surrounded by a World of Confused Genders
When coated with sugar, the lies of any belief are easy to swallow. And colorful picture books with themes of tolerance and inclusivity certainly can mask the darkness and depravity they promote.
A quote from an article published by the Dr. James Dobson institute perfectly summarized my thoughts:
“Here is the simple truth that parents need to constantly pour into their kids: You were created by God, in His image, to change the culture and not vice versa — to be in the world and not of it, to be transformers and not conformers (Romans 12:1-2).”
To change the culture, not vice versa. To be in the world, not of it. To be transformers, not conformers. This should be our prayer for our children and ourselves every day as we awaken to a world that wants to destroy the foundation we are standing on.
What we read impacts the way we think. The way we think impacts the way we live. And the way we live impacts our eternity. Entertainment matters. Books matter.
Instead of passively sitting by and allowing culture’s lies to shape the minds of your children through seemingly innocent board books and picture books, read stories where men are firm and tender, and women are strong and gentle. Read stories where traditional gender roles are respected, praised, and promoted.
Our stories should point readers to themes of justice, courage, and virtue. They should remind children of The Greatest Hero and The Greatest Story.
Little minds are impressionable. Let’s impress them with the truth.
