Can Reading Fiction Help?

Me with Stephen Lawhead

I once that people who read fiction tend to have better interpersonal relationship skills. While I can't testify to the the truthfulness of the statement, I can say that my recent experience with fiction has thinking that it may be true. With fiction, as in life, you encounter a many types of people. Although it may be true that each is unique, there is also a lot of common ground between people.

In life, the first impression of a person often dictates the flow of the relationship. If they make a pleasing first impression, you may find yourself trying to build a friendship. If they strike in a negative way, you might find yourself avoiding that person. First impressions are often wrong, or at least slightly off the mark.

As you encounter characters in the works of fiction, you are given ample time to measure the person through their actions. You may not initial like a character, but through the events that change and shape them you come to love or admire them. Or you may find that your initial positive feelings for a character are unwarranted. These things can be said of life as well, but we tend to give real human being less opportunity to change our minds.

Fiction, then, can give us a framework to approaching the people that we meet. Watching a life unfold in a novel can help you to see the big picture. The future brings many twists and turns, many opportunities for change and growth, failure and betrayal. If a person reads widely in different genres of fiction, they will encounter many different types of characters. From that pool of characters, they will be able to more readily find common ground with people in the real world. Reading of this sort helps us to temper both our gullibility and our cynicism.

Individual who have no difficulty with meeting new people may find this a bit odd, but introverts often struggle with developing relationships. Earning their trust comes at a great price. However, I have found myself a little less apprehensive about approaching new people. The opportunity for friendship and adventure is great to risk throwing it away. I think the Spirit has been using fiction to help me becoming more discerning and more caring.

The imagination can be a powerful ally to growth. It can also be a great ally to the gospel. The Scripture is filled with vivid imagery. That imagery pulls you into the story, connects you to the people in those stories. Scripture is not fiction, but it still takes advantage of the story format. Story is important on an instinctive level.

I encourage you to read the Bible for the truth it teaches. Get lost in the stories, connect to the character, and try to understand their motives. It will help you to grow. But also remember that other stories echo some of the great stories of Scripture. You'll read about the ruin of sin, the role of providence in life, justice, forgiveness, and redemption. Just as Jesus taught great truth in parables, so to fiction can teach us great truths. Most of the fictional character you'll encounter in your stories are composites of real people. And most likely, you'll run into someone who is similar in some way.

I encourage you to find some good fiction, and devote some time to developing your imagination. Realize the authors worldview shapes not only the story he tells, but how he tells the story. Reading authors who write from a distinctly Christian worldview helps to reinforce the biblical world view for you. Reading authors who write from a non-Christian worldview give you a peek behind the curtain, so to speak. They help you to see how they wrestle with the implications of their worldview.

I'm not an expert on fiction, and my tastes run toward fantasy and science fiction. Although, I also like historical fiction and literature some. Some of my suggestions would be C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, and his Space Trilogy; J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy); I loved the Song of Albion trilogy, The Pendragon Cycle, Byzantium, and The King Raven Trilogy by Stephen R. Lawhead (I'm a big Lawhead fan); Peter Pan was a good book; John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is a must read (even if you have to do it in modern English); and there are plenty of others. 

What works of fiction have you read and found helpful? Who are some of your favorite characters? What books would you recommend? Why not leave a comment?