Family Ministry – The Education of Our Children
Introduction – To say to this group
that Christians should not put their children in agnostic, government schools
(often referred to as ‘public’ schools) is, as they say, preaching to the
choir. However, we must not be haughty
if we have been granted some measure of light here, for we stand connected to
‘the church’ before the Lord, not simply as EEF. God’s word comes to us as individuals, yes, but also as families,
as a nation, and as the church, one body, in covenant with our Lord.
“Public” Schools – Let’s call them
what they truly are. They are
government schools (compulsory education, centralized, statist
curriculum). They are polytheistic
schools (multiple gods, multiculturalism, pluralism). They could be called agnostic schools (You may believe in
whatever ‘god’ you want, but he/she/it is irrelevant to all that is being
taught here). But there is nothing
‘god-less’ about agnostic education. It
is deeply religious at its very core.
A Horrific
Example – Give a bunch of people flight manuals and
simulators so they can learn to fly commercial jets. Neutral education, right?
Now add any god at all – any worldview, including the religion of jihad
at all costs. We don’t teach jihad
in our schools, though, do we? No, we
teach that we are all bags of highly developed protoplasm with no destiny or
purpose other than what I ‘find within myself’. And what if I find dark, depraved desires?
Promise, Authority, and Depravity
– The education of our children is connected to the other issues we have
discussed with regard to our parenting.
Promises
(Psalm 78:1-11) – Education must be a story and a song. It must be about what God has revealed and
done. It must be the passing on of a
culture and a heritage and a worldview from one generation to the next. It must be done by grace, through faith – in
the promises of God to His people and to their children.
Authority
(Deut 6:1-9) – Education is commanded of parents who have been granted the
authority by God to brainwash those little minds every step of the way.
Depravity
(Prov 22:6) – They must have those brains washed because they are descendants
of Adam. If they are going to love God
with all their minds, they will have to learn how. This is not a call to a Sunday school class or family
devotions. This is a call to life,
worldview, vocation, in short – everything.
Jesus is Lord of all (Matt 28:18, 12:30).
The Paideia of the Lord (Eph 6:4) – In
the NKJV, it is ‘training’ here, it is ‘instruction’ in 2 Tim 3:16, and
‘chastening’ in Heb 12:7-11. Moses
received it (Acts 7:22), as did Paul (Acts 22:3). Paideia is the work commanded in Deut 6. It is the complete enculturation of the
mind, body, soul and strength of the child in the Lord. And you, fathers, have been given this task.
Homeschooling and Day Schools
– It is a glorious thing to see principles adhered to with varying
methods. As we live in community with
one another, we must respect the diversity of approaches to living the
Christian life. Because both methods
have produced some wonderful results, we should laud and encourage both. Because both methods have also produced
less-than-appealing results (and because we are still only at best a couple of
generations into recovering that which we have attempted to destroy for many
more), we should be accountable to one another and allow iron to sharpen
iron. Both must avoid pitfalls –
Abdication
– Sending your kid to school with a check doesn’t qualify as faithful
parenting. Neither does keeping them
home without the father’s oversight and direction. Paideia requires thoughtful, ongoing oversight.
Peer Pressure
– Putting them in a Christian school does not keep them from sinners. But keeping them at home doesn’t isolate
them from sinners, themselves included.
Paideia requires a disciplined character and godly standards.
Either-Or
Thinking – Two applications here. First, we are not to choose between
character and academics, for academics is a character issue (Prov 6:9). Paideia is broad. Secondly, it may be true that one method is superior than another
in a particular situation, but we must be careful of over-generalizations (Rom
14:10).
More Than Just Decent Children
(Phil 4:8-9) – Pagans can bring up well-behaved, and even in some respects,
well-educated, children. But our job is
to raise up our children with souls impassioned with the things God loves. But they won’t do that if there isn’t
anything to imitate from their parents.
Do we know how to wonder (Prov 30:18-19) and declare the glory of God in
everything (Psalm 19)? We have a grip
on being dogmatic about truth, but what about aesthetics (Psalm 29:2) or ethics
(Gen 1:31) or love (John 15:13)? Having
rejected the modern culture around us, we will invite seven more wicked spirits
if we leave our children with a cultural void.
Repairing the Ruins – The work is going
well and much should be commended here.
Let us not rest on our laurels nor think more highly of ourselves than
we ought. There is much more to
recover. As you do the work, know it
will be hard (Gal 6:9-10) and we must look for opportunities to encourage and
help our brothers and sisters here.
Make sure it is all being done with joy and thankfulness unto the Lord
(Col 3:17). If so, we can expect to see
the Hand of blessing upon our labors (Deut 7:9).