We Cannot Afford To Delay Any Longer

Last week I wrote about the devastating consequences that we are facing due to the “me first” ideology that has permeated all areas of today’s society. I am reminded of what Puritan preacher and author, Thomas Watson, wrote in his treatise The Duty of Self Denial.

Self denial is the first principle of Christianity. It is the life blood which must run through the whole body of religion. Self denial is learned not out of topics of philosophy but the oracles of scripture.

This focus on “love yourself first” is simply part of Satan’s strategy to destroy the family. It also plays into his desire to control the state. All of this is Satan’s ongoing desire to be “like God.” In order to destroy the family and control the state, Satan continues to set his sights on capturing the next generation of young people. He has done this primarily through secular educational programs.

Christian parents and church leaders must wake up to these strategies and gird themselves to wage war against the enemy. We cannot delay or it will result in total defeat. This effort to capture the hearts and minds of our children and youth through the world’s educational system has never been made clearer than what was posted this past week by the Michigan Democratic Party. Please read this very carefully.

Not sure where this “parents-should-control-what-is-taught-in-schools-because-they-are-our-kids” is originating, but parents do have the option to choose to send their kids to a hand-selected private school at their own expense if this is what they want.

The purpose of a public education in a public school is not to teach kids only what parents want them to be taught. It is to teach them what society needs them to know. The client of the public school is not the parent, but the entire community, the public. (emphasis mine)

This belief that children do not belong to parents but to the state is not new. It can be seen throughout human history. Hitler declared that the youth of today belong to the Reich. Parents were responsible for what their children ate but the state was responsible for what every child believed.

This was also the mentality throughout the former Soviet Union and continues in Russia today. I saw this first hand in the early 1990s when I took part in several 4-day convocations where we trained teachers throughout the Soviet Union on biblical morality as a foundation for society.

Recently, I read an editorial that both alarmed me and broke my heart. Joe Mathews wrote a column on January 13th that began with these words.

If California is ever going to achieve true equity, the state must require parents to give away their children.

A few people commented that they believed this column was meant to be satire. However, there are some very dangerous ideas being presented whether or not this is satirical. The writer went on to explain how some parents give their children an unfair advantage over other children.

Fathers and mothers with greater wealth and education are more likely to transfer these advantages to their children, compounding privilege over generations.

What does Mathews suggest as a remedy to this problem? Here are his own words.

My solution — making raising your own children illegal — is simple, and while we wait for the legislation to pass, we can act now: the rich and poor should trade kids, and homeowners might swap children with their homeless neighbors…Today, a policy of universal orphanhood aligns with powerful social trends that point to less interest in the family. (emphasis mine)

Joel Abbott did a good job in breaking this column down to the key beliefs that are behind this type of thinking. He states that Mathews’ logic is:

1. The State is the ultimate authority.
2. The State is trying to teach kids to be better (AKA conforming to the things I believe is true and define reality).
3. Parents are standing in the way of what the State and I want kids to be.
4. Therefore, children must be removed from their parents.

Throughout my 54 years in education, there has been a hesitancy and even a militant resistance by Christian parents, pastors, church leaders and educators to admit that secular education is a threat to the family. This is proven by the simple fact that 90+% of Christian parents have and continue to enroll their children in secular public and private schools.

I am finding more and more Christian school leaders telling me that the majority of parents sending their children to their schools don’t understand what authentic biblical education is. What is more alarming is that it appears the majority of these parents don’t care or want to know how God wants them to educate their children and youth.

I remember the time when parents were required to attend all school meetings where a biblical philosophy of education was taught to them. I have spoken at many such meetings. However, these types of events are rare today and, if they do take place, attendance is merely optional.

Some school leaders have shared that they are fearful that they may lose families if they required such involvement by the parents. Since many families may be unchurched, they would not agree to required meetings where their biblical responsibilities are presented. As a result, there is a tendency for Christian schools to play down the emphasis on a biblical worldview and a biblical philosophy of education. In its place, the emphasis has shifted to highlighting the schools academic (or athletics, fine arts, etc.) accomplishments as the major benefits of a “Christian” education.

We are at a crossroads and we must choose the right path. There cannot be any hesitation when it comes to the church equipping parents with the truth about what the Bible says about educating future generations. Knowing, understanding and being committed to a biblical philosophy of education must be the hallmark of every Christian school.

Parents must be empowered, churches engaged and schools transformed by a thorough understanding of Kingdom Education™! We cannot delay another day! We must begin taking back our children TODAY!