If your home is like mine this time of\u00a0year, it has been a frenzy of fall activities\u00a0for school and church. In this season,\u00a0parents and kids alike often feel hurried\u00a0and rushed.\u00a0During\u00a0these weeks of busy schedules we may\u00a0neglect our family\u2019s quality time and the\u00a0training of our children for lack of time.<\/p>\n
We know that children inadvertently\u00a0soak up knowledge as their subconscious\u00a0minds are ready and \u201cat attention\u201d\u00a0to glean anything and everything\u00a0that the Prince of the World has to offer.\u00a0We, as parents, have to make time for\u00a0purposeful teaching and training of our\u00a0children.<\/p>\n
So what can we teach our children to\u00a0help arm them in this battle for their\u00a0souls? The answer is simple\u2014the Word\u00a0and the works of God. However, it is in\u00a0the application of this principle that many parents\u00a0fall short. In addition, many parents\u00a0do not understand how to teach these\u00a0things and believe they cannot.<\/p>\n
How do we begin? What does this look\u00a0like in real life? First, let\u2019s get out our Bibles and consider the following verses:\u00a0Joshua 24:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:11,\u00a0Genesis 18:19, Ephesians 6:4, and Joel\u00a01:3.<\/p>\n
Next, let us ask ourselves the question,\u00a0\u201cWhat is the goal of educating and\u00a0teaching our children?\u201d The world may\u00a0say something like, \u201cGetting our kids to\u00a0age 18, out of the house, and on their own\u00a0before they become pregnant or get\u00a0someone pregnant, and keeping them\u00a0away from alcohol and drugs.\u201d Others\u00a0may say the goal is teaching knowledge\u00a0and facts so they can succeed in this\u00a0world.<\/p>\n
While both of these may be part of education,\u00a0true education is molding their\u00a0inner beings toward God. Education\u00a0should be about teaching them a Biblical\u00a0worldview, one that is different from\u00a0the humanist, evolutionary, Gnostic, etc.,\u00a0worldviews they are inadvertently\u00a0absorbing. The education of our children\u00a0should be geared toward getting them to\u00a0love, trust, and therefore obey God even\u00a0better than we have. The goal of education\u00a0should be to teach our children how\u00a0to train their children to love and trust\u00a0God. It is our role and responsibility to\u00a0teach them what the truth of the Gospel\u00a0message is all about (John 8:32).<\/p>\n
Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us that the\u00a0whole duty of man is to fear God and\u00a0keep His commandments. This is the\u00a0beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).\u00a0Why not start here? Combining Bible\u00a0study and the three R\u2019s is not as difficult\u00a0as many think. I have read that in 1800\u00a0Thomas Jefferson sent a delegation to\u00a0find out the literacy rate in the colonies.\u00a0Surprisingly, it was 98%. This was without\u00a0the National Education Agency,\u00a0Department of Education, Education\u00a0Czars, and without any government\u00a0involvement. The consistent factor for\u00a0this achievement was that the fathers\u00a0<\/span>were reading to their children daily.<\/p>\n Mind you, this was from the King James\u00a0Version and not a watered-down or\u00a0\u201ceasy-to-understand\u201d children\u2019s Bible or\u00a0\u201cstory\u201d Bible. Those men practiced being\u00a0like the patriarchs of the Old Testament\u2014\u00a0a lesson I and most other fathers can\u00a0learn.<\/p>\n A big discouragement to me is that the\u00a0education our children receive from the\u00a0world has in many cases completely separated\u00a0secular education from spiritual\u00a0education. This is evident in the fact that\u00a0children, young adults, and even older\u00a0adults have life goals that are not\u00a0Biblically based. Let\u2019s remember the\u00a0warning in Hosea 4:6, \u201cMy people are\u00a0destroyed from lack of knowledge \u2026.\u201d\u00a0This is not referring to book knowledge\u00a0but \u201cfear of the Lord\u201d knowledge. It is up\u00a0to parents to fill this role and not merely\u00a0rely on Christian schools or the church.<\/p>\n Perhaps the question we should be asking\u00a0when educating our children is, \u201cBy\u00a0what do we want our children known?\u201d\u00a0Do we want them known by their hearts,\u00a0spirits, and childlikeness? Or, do we want\u00a0them known by their grades and accomplishments?\u00a0The answer is both!<\/p>\n Yet what\u00a0do we especially want the world, the\u00a0unsaved, to see? Which type of education\u00a0better glorifies God, gives Him the glory\u00a0and honor while promoting His kingdom?\u00a0We all know the answer to that.\u00a0The point of this article is to get the\u00a0family (including mine) to stay focused\u00a0and direct itself Biblically. We must always think about why we educate\u00a0our children and what our purpose\u00a0should be.<\/p>\n