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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I am reluctant to give my child the entire Bible because there are very troubling stories in there about sinful acts that I don’t want my children to know about. Yet I’m troubled to keep the whole Word of God from them. Am I overthinking this? After all, God has chosen to expose the awful sin of mankind, but shouldn’t children be protected from bad information? – G.U.

A: Children should be protected from many things in life, but never the Word of God which tells of man’s sin and God’s salvation. God included real-life, flesh-and-blood sinful people, in His Word. David committed adultery, Abraham lied about his wife – the list goes on and on.

Why are these people’s stories in the Bible in a tell-all way? So we will learn from their wrongdoings [sin]. One lesson is that sin always has consequences.

In the case of King David, he was a great leader and a good man in many ways. But over the years he became complacent, and instead of carrying out his responsibilities, he fell into immorality (2 Samuel 11–12). And consider the tragic consequences of his sin: Not only did the child born of that illicit union die, but David committed other sins – lying, murder – in a vain attempt to cover it up. Furthermore, his influence for good was lost, and his last years as king were marked by rebellion and tragedy.

God has much to teach us from the examples of His people who failed. But most of all His Word points us to Christ, who alone can forgive us and set our feet on the right path.

Every word of Scripture is useful for teaching and correcting. May we all pray that we will learn from the sins of others who have gone before us and see the grace of God at work in our lives, remembering 1 Corinthians 10:11: “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us” (NIV).

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

©2025 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c)2025 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.