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These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. ~ Thomas Paine, The Crisis No. I (written December  19, 1776, published December  23, 1776)

Thomas Paine was writing about a national crisis occurring almost 250 years ago. Yet here we are in 2023, with his words still ringing true in our ears. Our nation is witnessing a full-frontal assault on its children. Whether by a woke curricula grounded in neo-Marxist Critical Race Theory, the historically inaccurate and egregious 1619 Project, the constant pursuit for equity penalizing excellence, or the sexualization of our most vulnerable children, Satan is on a forced march through America’s schools. This should be a concern of everyone because the government has successfully removed God from public education making the only “firewall” the parents.

(Proverbs 1:8)1NIV New International Version Translations – “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”

In Proverbs 1, children are called to listen to and apply the knowledge learned from their parents. God defines this as wisdom. There are explicit warnings as to what they will learn elsewhere. Solomon points to misguided knowledge that leads one’s soul to ruin.  The command to parents is to nurture their children in the Lord and never leave it to the world!

(Ephesians 6:4) – “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

The world constantly seeks to remove God from education. God places the responsibility clearly in the hands of the parents, both parents. Biblically, the family unit is to consist of a mother and father with the job description of training, educating, and disciplining children. The “village” idea of education only perpetuates the demise of moral and Godly behavior. Why? Solomon wrote, “Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12). Solomon’s point was that there are more important things than simply amassing knowledge—namely, fearing God and obeying Him.

(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) – “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

Education as a cure-all for society’s ills is a false pretext because it does nothing to combat ungodliness. What are society’s ills? The truth be known, it can all be summed up as “ungodliness.” Knowledge, apart from the love of God, leads to pride (1 Corinthians 8:1). Pride is excessive self-esteem, conceit, or arrogance.  Pride is the sin of attitude and the heart and spirit. A proud person has ultimately shifted confidence to oneself instead of confidence in God. Simply knowing facts does not make one a better person, and it is indeed possible to be a highly educated fool. Education, however, is important to leading a productive life. One of the only things we know of Jesus’ childhood is that He “grew in wisdom” as He grew “in stature” (Luke 2:52). The Incarnate Son of God voluntarily put Himself in a position where He needed to assimilate knowledge as a human. Education was part of the process.

John Calvin began his reformation in favor of universal education under church control (the cost to be in large part borne by the community), but “universal” did not mean “democratic.” The purposes were to assure the populous could read the Scriptures. The spread of Protestantism would support that all children should go to school. So it happened that church regulations of the 16th and 17th centuries began to contain items governing schools and the instruction of young people in reading and religion. In the 18th century, following the general tendency toward secularization, governments began to assume responsibility for supporting the schools. Thus the “baby was thrown out with the bath water.” Religion was replaced by science, math, secular history, and other “state-sponsored” curricula.

Now that we know the problem, what is a reasonable solution? Here are the principles in the Bible relating to the education of children:

Do not neglect our children’s education. Numerous verses are commanding us to train and discipline our children. (https://www.openbible.info/topics/educating_our_children)

(Proverbs 22:6) – “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

There must be a moral component to education. As the Proverbs verse above says, there is a right path to be on in one’s life, and a wrong one, and we are not to let our children wander through life blindly. It should be the responsibility of both parents and the government to lead them in a godly way. Who we elect matters!

Education begins with the reality of God’s and Christ’s existence. As we learn more about God’s creation, our understanding of God’s wisdom and power deepens. As we study God’s Word, we become more equipped for God’s work (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 3:28). Children must be taught about God and His creation. Deuteronomy commands us to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). Children cannot love what they do not know!

(Deuteronomy. 4:9-10) – “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, ‘Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.’”

Our God is a historical Truth. History must not become a philosophy worked out in human minds but must always be a faith founded on what God has already done. Without an accurate education of history, humanity cannot ever hope to see that God exists.

(Exodus 12:26-27) – “And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ Then the people bowed down and worshiped.”

Discipline is a form of teaching a child. Today, we seem to just give way to the lusts of childhood. Parents must remain responsible for their children and never relinquish control of their children’s education to Satan’s world. Follow the crime statistics and their trail runs through broken families and educational systems.

(Proverbs 22:15) – “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.”

(Proverbs 23:13-14) – “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death.”

Children must be taught to reason for themselves. Without common sense, humanity is doomed. Without reasoning skills, children are easily influenced by our sinful world. It is the lack of reasoning skills that leads children and adults to accept the absurd. It will then be through faith that the importance of revelation, the Spirit, working in conjunction with humanity makes sense. It will be “revelation,” working through the Holy Spirit, that brings our Creator into focus!

(Romans 1:20) – “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Finally, parents must be directly involved in their children’s education. There is no place in God’s Word where you can subcontract the responsibilities of educating a child. While teaching may involve many different people from our communities, the responsibility for knowing the content of what is being taught remains with you. Government schools will not teach your child to love God. They may not even teach them a marketable skill. Even that responsibility solely rests with you. God expects you to fight for what is right in education so that children emerge as contributors to our nation and God’s Kingdom.

The goal of education must be to create adults capable of having a relationship with their Creator. They are to be moral people, having been made in God’s image.  Children are included among the people of God (Acts 2:39) and should not be hindered from coming to Him (Matthew 19:14). In fact, the young are often better able to approach and know God than adults (Matthew 11:25; 18:3).

“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” ~ George Washington

Contemplations

  • Are you familiar with your school’s curricula?
    • Ideas to Explore: We are talking about what we teach in elementary grades, middle school, high school, and at college levels. Do you look at the books children use? Do parental rights exist in your school system?
  • Openness and sunshine cure many ills. Is your child’s school system open to parental influence?
    • Ideas to Explore: Can you oversee any class? Can you browse your school’s library? Are you free to bring up concerns to staff or the school board?
  • To what extent are you willing to go through so that your child learns about God?
    • Ideas to Explore: If not in school, does your church have a children’s program? Do you take time to teach yourself about God’s Word?

 

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    NIV New International Version Translations