Every person forms a worldview. One’s worldview determines how he/she interprets all of life and, therefore, drives his/her everyday actions and attitudes. Depending on what definition one refers to, a worldview is determined by one’s beliefs about several key components such as:
- God
- Creation/Universe
- Humanity
- Purpose
- Moral Order/Behavior
- Knowledge
- Future
- History
- Work
One’s beliefs about each of these components is important; but one component is more important than all of the others put together. The foundation stone of every worldview is formed by how one answers this one question.
Who or what is my ultimate authority?
How one answers this question, determines his/her beliefs about God. What one believes about God, in turn, shapes what he/she believes about every other component of his/her worldview. A biblical worldview is based on who God is. If one doesn’t know God, he/she will never have a true biblical worldview that will direct all of life.
Secular education attempts to simply ignore God by teaching every subject as a compilation of neutral, observable facts that have no spiritual meaning. This type of teaching results in students developing a secular or man-centered worldview where God has no relevance to their everyday lives.
Solomon wrote:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 (NKJV)
As I have studied the Scriptures to find what God says about educating future generations, I discovered a very important principle that every parent, church leader and educator must understand and embrace. Simply stated, it is:
The education of children and youth must have as its primary focus the increase in the knowledge of God.
In order to obey this principle, parents, church leaders and educators must make sure that they know God fully. If we are not constantly growing in our knowledge of God, we will fail to provide our children and youth with a biblical worldview education. I remember being challenged recently by something that Tim Keller wrote. He stated:
The beginning of all wisdom is the “fear of the Lord.” But how do we know if we are relating to the real God? The answer is there is no real knowing of God unless we know him through his Word. Otherwise we are creating a God out of our imagination.
The only way we can know the real God is by being in His Word daily. It is true that we can see and understand God’s invisible attributes by studying His creation (Romans 1:20). However, we will only have a superficial understanding of the real God if we are not immersed in God’s Word. Even though most Christians would say that reading the Bible is important, few do it on a daily basis. When we aren’t in His Word regularly, Keller says that we are creating God according to what we conjure Him up to we want Him to be.
When a person is not in the Word daily, he/she may actually forget who God is. The results of forgetting who God is leads to severe consequences in one’s life. Again, I want to share with you what Keller warns about what happens when we forget who God is. He says,
- When one forgets God’s wisdom, it results in worry.
- When one forgets God’s mercy, it results in resentment.
- When one forgets God’s beauty, it results in covetousness.
- When one forgets God’s holiness, it results in a life of sin.
- When one forgets God’s sovereignty, it results in fear.
As I read these points, I asked myself are any of these results evident in my life? If so, I need to know God better. When I don’t know God the way I should, I forget what He can do in my life. One of my former pastors, Dr. James Merritt, explains it this way.
When you forget what God has done for you in the past, you will doubt what God can do for you in the present and what he will do for you in the future.
Erwin Lutzer said it best.
If you accomplish nothing in life at all except to know God and to worship Him, you will have delighted His heart.
How well do you know God? I encourage you to discipline yourself to be in the Word daily. As you read it, always be asking yourself what does this passage tell me about who God is? Knowing Him changes everything!!!
I share this link as an encouragement to know Him. Have a blessed day!
Thank you Glen for this reminder to know God more through his Word and to make him known .
This is key in our lives as Christian Educators .
Thank you for friendly reminders like knowing God through His Word. We need that. Have a great day!
Glen, thank you for you thoughtful biblical posts. This should be mandatory reading for all pastors and Christian school administrators and board members.