Who do we want our children to most look like at the end of their schooling? Is it the world, their peers, the teacher, the government ideal student or do we want our children to look like Christ? This challenged me since my children are approaching the age they should enrol in school and my husband and I have started to research our options.
We want to raise our children to be godly men and women, who do not live by the standards of the world but rather will stand for Christ and be witnesses. We want our "children to have the opportunity to acquire the rules of behaviour, beliefs and attitudes of their parents, family, church and wider community, rather than being restricted to the attitudes of their age-peers in traditional schooling." (www.achs.edu.au/socialisation)
Developing worldly Christians
Why are we developing worldly Christians who don't have a real faith? Well, when we put our children into school they will spend on average 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 35-40 weeks of the year, for 12-14 years in schools that do not promote God. In schools that do not pray, that don't open every day with a reading of the word of God, or look to God as the source of all wisdom and knowledge. In schools that deny God, they look at the heavens and deny that it was engineered by a Creator, rather it is easier for them to believe it just happened with a bang.
This is not only in State schools but in private Christian Schools. I would love to say that private Christian school education is much different, with children coming out in the 1000's following the Lord, but from my experience with working with some of these schools it is quite the opposite. Sure the schools have prayer time, devotions, chapel but children are taught the religion of Christianity (the schools are doing their best); the students come out being able to give the right answers but do not have a personal relationship with Jesus and don't realize that they are sinners in need of salvation.
I just think back to all the Christian School schoolies I helped when I worked with Red Frogs on the Gold Coast. It was very heart breaking.
When you send you children to school they are taught by a stranger whom you have not chosen nor do you know anything about their character and lifestyle choices, who does not know your child or the 20+ other kids in the class. This teacher will not have the same values as your family, probably doesn't even believe in the same God as you or have the same convictions.
God gets put onto the shelf when our children go to school and maybe He is picked up for youth night, Sunday church and perhaps a mid-week Bible study. They spend (I am being generous) 4 hours (and maybe 10 hours if your child attends a Christian school) of learning about God and the Bible and how it is relevant today, during the week and 40+ hours learning about everything that goes against the Bible and we wonder why they are not coming to faith.
Agenda
What are our children learning about at school? Unfortunately it is not just reading, writing and arithmetic. The school boards have agendas. There is an anti-Christian, humanist, secularist, evolutionist, feminist, homosexuality, other religion agenda being preached all in the name of tolerance and making children the same in state run schools. Our children are being discipled (taught) away from God.
As Christian we are called to love our neighbour as ourselves, and to love our enemies, but nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to teach the ways of the world to our children. In fact, 2 Corinthian 10 verse 5 says "we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." We are not to embrace the things of this world in the name of tolerance. We have been called to a higher standard, a God standard. We are to love no matter what sin is in a person's life but it does not mean we have to embrace their sin.
Paul tells "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith." 1 Timothy 6 verses 20-21 If Paul is warning Timothy that false knowledge has caused some to leave the faith, should we not heed since we are just as capable of being deceived by the same false knowledge. Should we surround our children with false teachings that we know is not true at the point in time when they are the most impressionable? We need to protect our children from the lies and deceit that is being taught as education and give them a true education, one that it is Christ-centred and one that is going to help them for eternity.
Biblical reasons for Homeschooling
The Bible does not come out and tell us either way to homeschool or to send to them to school. It does however tell us to instruct our children. "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 6 verses 6-7 God specifically calls us to train our children so that they will know Him, that we are to do it diligently which means to be "constant in effort to accomplish something." (dictionary.com) We are to discuss His ways with them throughout the day, show them how it is relevant, show them our faith in action and our weaknesses and how we need God too.
Our children from young ages need to be brought up in the faith; it isn't just good enough to have a prayer over the meal, and a devotion here and there and Sunday church. "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Eph 6 verse 4. We are called to mediate on the word day and night, which is something hard to do when our children attend school, but something that is very possible in a Christian based homeschooling program.
Reasons to Homeschool
A few reasons to homeschool but not an exhaustive list by any means:
• The Bible is very clear that we are responsible and will be held accountable for how we raised our children; we are called to be involved in their education.
• Develop character in the your child but also in your family as you are with each other more often and have to confront issues in each other's lives, (iron sharpens iron)
• Give your children a Biblical worldview
• Prepare your children to be world changers for Christ
• Develop your children to be creative thinkers and independent studiers
The debate will continue
I am not going to say that it is a sin to send your child to school, or that your child lose their faith if they go, and would keep their faith if you homeschooled them. Rather, each person will come up with their own conclusion on what is right for your family as one day we are all going to be called to give an account to the creator for our time here on earth.
My prayer is that you follow what the Lord leads you and your family do that, that we don't take the easy way out and chose one over the other because it was easier and more convenient, rather that we follow what was asked of us. Of course I also know that not everyone can Homeschool so in those circumstances, perhaps private Christian school is the way to go, but for others my challenge is why can you not homeschool?
Our motives and reasons are important, take all that we do before the King of kings. I know that I have been challenged, that it is my children's lives at stake and they are worth me staying home for this season.
A disclaimer
Homeschooling is not to be used to shelter our children from life. It is not to keep our children away from the sin in the world. If we were to try and keep them away from sin we would not be able to have them in our homes since we are sinners in need of a saviour, just as much as the world is.
We are not called to live in a bubble, Jesus told us to be in the world but not of it. We need to be active in our communities, not hiding behind our walls. Man's greatest need is the gospel, and how are they going to find that out if we are in hiding worried and frightened.
Homeschool in my view is to be used as a tool to train up the next generation of men and women who are strong in their faith who will take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Genevieve Wilson is married with two children who served with YWAM for eight years in Brisbane and now serving in mission in Canada as a modern day abolitionist.
Genevieve Wilson's previous articles may be viewed at
www.pressserviceinternational.org/genevieve-wilson.html