One of the issues with which Christians today are faced with increasing frequency is how to react where governments pass laws that are contrary to the principles of the Word of God. These laws may impact many areas of our lives, and I am not referring to countries where open persecution is common and where Christians are routinely treated badly. Rather, I am referring to so-called “free” countries, where freedom of religion allegedly exists and where Christians are not openly persecuted.
For example, in Canada, in the province of Ontario, doctors must, by law, refer patients for abortion, contraception, transgender surgery, or assisted suicide, even if the doctor conscientiously objects to these procedures. The reality that the referral makes the doctor an “accessory before the fact” is not considered a viable objection.
Laws That Conflict
In the context of raising children, other laws have been enacted in some jurisdictions that make it difficult for Christian parents to obey the Word of God. In Canada a law has been proposed (although not yet passed by Parliament) that would make it illegal for parents to send a child for counseling, if the child expressed a gender preference that was different from his/her biological sex. (Illegal counseling would be that which was intended to steer children toward their biological sex, rather than allowing them to choose their gender.)
More widespread are laws forbidding parents to spank their children. Sweden was the first country to ban spanking back in 1979, and to date there are more than 50 countries in the world that have followed suit. The list includes a number of Western European countries such as the Netherlands, France, Portugal and Germany, as well as some Eastern European, African, and South American countries. Spanking is also illegal in New Zealand.
Objectionable Curricula
In still other situations, Christian parents are sometimes upset at the content of the curricula in public schools, especially in the areas of homosexuality and sex education. In some nations home schooling is permitted, which gets around the difficulty, but in other nations this is illegal. How are Christian parents to react in such situations? If they disobey the law, they may be sent to jail, but worse still, they may be declared unfit parents and have their children forcibly taken away from them.
There is no easy answer to these dilemmas, and we must first of all be much before the Lord about them. Scripture is clear that “we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29), but we must be careful in interpreting what “obeying God” means in every situation. Only the Lord can give wisdom as to how we should react. Let us consider the question of spanking.
Early Discipline
First of all, an old brother, long since with the Lord, used to say, “If discipline is begun early in a child’s life, most of the spankings will take place before the child can even remember them specifically.” This is very true. If the children’s wills are molded by the age of two or three, they will not likely need frequent spankings after that.
Second, spankings should be a last resort in punishment. Scripture says, “The rod and reproof give wisdom” (Prov. 29:15), and once the child’s will is shaped properly at a young age, reproof may be all that is needed most of the time. I have known homes where parents felt that when some wrong was done, a spanking was always necessary, on the principle that “every transgression” must receive “a just recompense of reward” (Heb. 2:2), even though the child had obviously learned the lesson through reproof. Such an attitude in raising children has no basis in the Word of God.
Intolerable Situations
Third, if the situation becomes intolerable, some parents have even considered moving to another jurisdiction where the laws were different. Of course, this is big step, but surely preferable to losing one’s children by having them taken away by the authorities. In years gone by, many Christians fled countries where religious persecution was present, and it is well-known that the Pilgrim Fathers who came to America were mainly seeking freedom of worship. The Lord may make this option possible for us in some cases.
Finally, some parents may decide to obey the law and not spank their children. Let us not be critical of them, for while the Word of God does teach the use of corporal punishment, it is not as important as consistency. There are other ways to discipline children, and consistency in shaping their behavior is more important than the kind of discipline.
Other Options
With regard to curricula in public schools, again, much prayer is needed. It is distressing to Christian parents to know that their children may be subjected at a young age to teaching in the area of sex education that is contrary to the Word of God and that they may be exposed to those who hold and teach same-sex marriage or the open practice of homosexuality. It is especially difficult when these subjects are taught to children at a tender age, when their minds are very impressionable.
In some cases, it may be possible for children to be excused from taking such classes, but this is not always possible. In other cases, it may be possible to send the children to a private school, but not all parents can afford this. Sometimes the only solution is for the parents to encourage children to talk about what they have heard at school and then to open the Word of God on the subject. With much prayer and in dependence on the Lord, we can trust Him to use His Word in their hearts and to counter that which is contrary to it. No doubt we have all heard of children from Christian homes who had to resist the atheistic teaching of communist regimes, and did so faithfully. In such cases parents had no resource other than the Lord and His Word.
Again, it is impossible to give a remedy for every circumstance, for every situation is unique. But the Lord, who knows all about our difficulties in these last days, can give wisdom from above, if we ask Him. We are indeed in the “perilous times” mentioned in 2 Timothy 3, and we can expect things only to get worse, as time goes on. However, if there is a real heartfelt desire to please the Lord, let us remember that “He shall be the stability of thy times” (Isa. 33:6 JND) and that He will enable us to “humble ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones” (Ezra 8:21 JnD).
W. J. Prost