The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ecclesiastes 12:12, “But beyond this, my son, be warned:

the writing of many books is endless, and

excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.”

Were Solomon alive today, he would marvel at his own words.

“Google Books estimates that there are about 130 million books

in existence. If you double that, it’s probably more than enough

to cover all the books that ever existed. UNESCO estimates that

about 2 million books are published worldwide each year, but that

includes older books as well as new ones.” That’s a lot of books!

Notice that Solomon did not warn against reading books! He only

pointed out that “excessive devotion” to them was wearying. One

of the regrets I have, as I look back over my life, is that I did not

read more! Reading is to the mind what food is to the body. Yet,

we must always beware of what we read and eat.

I have formally studied five languages, yet only in my native English

can I claim proficiency. Still, reading books in the languages in which

they were written is superior to reading a translation. More important

still is reading GOOD books! Books are authors’ ideas; and they are

no better than the authors themselves, so, be careful! Authors are

clever; they know how to make you believe what they believe,

whether it is true and accurate or not.

Check the publisher, too. Money drives publication, and some

publishers will publish anything that brings in the buck! All of this

leads me to say that there is only ONE BOOK you can truly trust:

The Bible – the Holy Word of the Living God! Let that Word be the

Standard; and let everything be judged by what God has said.

Saturate yourself with HIS WORD! Believe it all, even what you

don’t fully understand. Pray for understanding. If the LORD lets

you live to my age or longer, you will be glad for what you have read.

We love, cherish and pray for you daily,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”