The Textbook

School starts in a couple of weeks. It’s time for the annual trip to Staples to purchase the pencils, paper, notebooks, pens, rulers, calculators, lunch boxes, erasers, flash drives, calendars or planners or both, and the other things “needed” for a successful year of learning. This list is consistent for all levels of education, from Kindergarten to Graduate School.

One (or more) item(s) I still look forward to checking out are the textbooks – the ones I had to read and the ones my kids have to read. I’ve seen quite a few news stories and advertisements that would do away with actual textbooks in favor of digital versions for Kindles, iPads, Nooks, and Sony E-readers. However handy those devices might be, there is nothing quite the same as holding a book and turning the paper pages of a printed textbook.

I was reminded of the importance of an up-to-date and accurate textbook one day this last week as I did my normal morning routine. Part of that routine is reading a passage from my Bible. Currently I am reading through the Psalms using the Message paraphrase. What I found in Psalm 119:71 reminded me about the importance of The Textbook.

“My troubles turned out all for the best – they forced me to learn from Your Textbook.”

I got to thinking of the many topics covered or touched on in God’s Textbook. I made a list of courses for which the Bible could be a resource. While the list is not exhaustive some of the topics included:

Poetry, Geography, History, Biography, Literature, Technical Writing, Ethics/Morality, Sociology, Fine Arts/Craftsmanship, Psychology, Basic Algebra, Philosophy, Foreign Languages, Law

The list gives me a lot to think about. Most importantly, I need to pore over The Textbook at least as diligently as I pored over my college textbooks. Can you think of other courses of study that could benefit from using the Bible as a resource? Post a comment or make a comment on Facebook. I’d be interested in hearing what others come up with.