Parental Responsibility
Mandatory public education common in most lands of the Western world seems to afford little choice to Christian parents who have concerns about the system of public schools. However, there are still many decisions which parents will be responsible to make for their children in the fear of the Lord.
God tells parents to “train up a child in the way he should go.” It was about a parent that Jehovah said, “I know... that he [Abraham] will command his children and his household after him.” “Thou... and thy house” is spoken to a parent. And while “Whosoever shall offend one of these little ones” is a solemn warning to all regarding the treatment of children, it is fathers who are commanded to bring up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
In Ezra 8:21 the people of God, about to embark on a long and dangerous journey, came together to “seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones.” What a vitally important attitude for those whose children attend public schools!
Parental Diligence
While there are many good things to be found in public education, its primary goals in training children go far beyond teaching them to be “quiet... do [their] own business... work with [their] own hands... that [they] may walk honestly” (1 Thess. 4:11-12).
The chief object of this vast system is the advancement and development of man and his world. And it seeks to gain these objects apart from any thought of responsibility or reference to God.
At one time, the focus of public education was to teach basic skills—n ow it teaches life skills. These are moral concepts intended to provide students with those abilities necessary to “successful living” in the “city” which Cain created (Gen. 4:16-22). Thus, children need to be diligently taught right moral principles in the home before they learn the world’s morals in school.
Another important principle for fathers and mothers is found in Proverbs 27:23: “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks.” Seek to know what your children are learning and hearing at school!
A special word to dear fathers: Take time to listen carefully to what your children tell you about their school activities. Elisha (2 Kings 4:40) listened to those who cried the warning, “There is death in the pot,” and he was able then to neutralize the poisonous gourds with “meal” (Christ). How important that fathers daily add the divine “meal” to that “pot of experiences” which contains the wild gourds of moral poison that their children have unwittingly collected at school.
Parental Preparation
Moses’ story provides parents with important principles for preparing their children for the world they will come in contact with in public schools. They will spend 30-35 hours every week in this world, and parents cannot afford to waste one precious minute in preparing them for that time. See how Moses’ mother spent the short time she had with her infant son, before he was taken to Pharaoh’s court:
1. She hid him from the evil influences of the world. There are many activities available in public schools which are not vital to a child’s education. Seek discernment from the Lord to know when to hide your children from such things.
2. She prepared that which protected him when he was exposed to the world. Be diligent in preparing an ark of protection Christ for your children. Because of its separating influence, true Christianity will be unattractive to the world (covered with “slime and pitch”). But it will also be impervious to its harmful influences (the river).
3. She set a watch (Moses’ sister) over her child at all times. Be observant. Visit your child’s classroom and become familiar with its environment. Get to know the teachers. Volunteer, if possible, when the service of a “teacher’s aide” or “classroom parent” are requested by your child’s teacher.
4. When given the opportunity, she personally nursed the child. (See Exodus 2:29.) Fathers and mothers, spend time, during the years of your children’s schooling, talking to and doing things with them in a nursing spirit of parental love and friendship. Do not let your children think that their teachers are more understanding, concerned or loving to them than you, their parents.
In Acts 7:20, we also learn that Moses was “nourished up in his father’s house three months.” It is a father’s privilege and responsibility to provide a home which is better than anything his children will experience in public schools. How vital that the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 is practically displayed in such a home!
The result of this preparation was that when the time of testing came, Moses chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God.” May this be the goal and happy result for each child brought up in a Christian home who is educated in public schools.
Parental Prayer
The story of Daniel provides real comfort for Christian parents whose children attend public schools. Though we know virtually nothing about them, we may say it was surely not the desire of Daniel’s parents to have their son carried away into a heathen environment, there to be taught all of the wisdom and ways of that godless world. What could they do? They could do what all believers of all ages can do: pray to the “God of all comfort.”
Six words in Daniel 1:8 reveal the value and effect of their prayers: “But Daniel purposed in his heart.” We can hardly think of more adverse circumstances than Daniel was subjected to in Babylon as a young boy there to be fed the “king’s meat” and “wine” in order that he might be filled with “the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.”
Yet when the testing time came, Daniel a prisoner in Babylon and separated from all godly influence and help said “no” to the defilement that was offered to him. Eternity will reveal how much of this wonderful purpose of heart was due to the prayers of his parents.
In His prayer to the Father, our blessed Lord Jesus uttered these precious words which can be of great comfort to parents whose children attend public schools: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil” ( John 17:15).
Finally, we would be reminded that as our children go through this life (should the Lord leave us here yet a little while), they will often face adverse circumstances. They will have to learn how to interact and deal with the ungodly especially those who work to provide a living. First Corinthians 5:10 teaches that believers cannot expect to live in total separation from those who are ungodly, “for then must ye needs go out of the world.”
Then too, while parents should be careful not to push their children beyond their capability in telling others about the Lord Jesus, the lives of Christian children can be a wonderful testimony for blessing to those with whom they come in contact in public-school classrooms.
Our loving God and Father has infinite resources of wisdom and strength, all that is needed to preserve our children in this “present evil world”—whether at school, work or home. Only let Christian parents take very seriously this issue that the choice they make for educating their children be made in the fear of God.
Note: Some Christian parents are educating their children through a quasi-public school system called “charter schools.” Any who are interested in learning more about this system are welcome to contact the editor for more information.
Ed.