Beyond Definitions

It is extremely important to define terms biblically. Unfortunately, many Christians have the tendency to use terms without clearly defining them. When this happens, each individual ends up giving his/her own meaning to the words.

This is especially true when it comes to the term education. It is a topic that is talked about all the time. Billions of dollars are spent annually on it. Everyone says that it is essential to one’s success. However, when people are asked to define education, one hears a plethora of meanings.

For many people the term education is automatically equated to schooling. There is no doubt about it; schooling plays a significant role in the education of a young person. However, it is only part of the educational process.

There are two aspects of education that one needs to keep in mind in order to understand the true meaning of the term. First, education is multi-faceted. By this, I mean that it takes place in more than one place. There are three main institutions that are involved in the education of children and youth. These institutions are the:

• home
• church
• school

Some would argue that the media and peers should also be listed. However, I strongly believe that the home should be monitoring the influence of both of these on their children. By listing them as separate influences in the educational process, it becomes easy for parents to say that they can’t compete with the media and their children’s peers.

The second aspect of education that helps us define it is the fact that all education is future-focused. Even when we teach our children history, we do so in order to learn from it and know how to live in the future. We teach our children to tie their shoes because we know that one day they will be on their own without Velcro.

With this in mind, I have used the following definition of education.

Education is the multi-faceted process of preparing the child for life and eternity.

The education a child receives at home, at church or in school must prepare them for life here on earth. However, it must also prepare them for eternity; and preparing them for eternity is the most important aspect of the future for which our children must be prepared.

Of course, everyone talks about the importance of educating the “whole” child. It is commonly understood that we must help every child grow physically, mentally, spiritually, socially and emotionally to be successful. In fact, Jesus developed all of these aspects of His life as He matured.

Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:52 (NKJV)

Here is the question that all of us must answer. Is knowing the definition of education, as stated above, enough to fully understand education? I believe the answer to that question is a resounding NO! As parents, pastors, church leaders and educators, we cannot merely know the definition and that it involves the total child. We must dig deeper if we are going to give the next generation a biblical education that will lead them to become disciples of Jesus Christ.

 

Here are some questions that I want to challenge you to ponder. These questions must be answered by parents. However, they must also be answered by every pastor and Christian educator.

1.  What is needed for a child to be prepared for life? This question must be answered for all aspects of the child’s life.

• • How do we prepare a child for life:
    • physically?
    • spiritually?
    • mentally/intellectually?
    • socially?
    • emotionally?

2.  What is needed for a child to be prepared for eternity? Again, we must answer this question considering the total child.

• • How do we prepare a child for eternity:
    • physically?
    • spiritually?
    • mentally/intellectually?
    • socially?
    • emotionally?

At first, you might think that preparing a child for eternity only involves the spiritual realm of life. However, does that mean the other aspects of life do not have any eternal value?

It is one thing to know the definition of education. It is another and more important thing to understand the definition and what it takes to truly educate a child biblically.