WHAT ARE YOUR CHILDREN BEING TAUGHT?
1. About God?
2. About origin of things?
3. About being just another animal?
4. About respect for Authority?
5. About accountability?
6. About being master or victim of Circumstance?
7. About our Country and Freedom?
1. About God
What are your children being taught in school about God? Are they being taught that God Created man, or that man invented and created God? Are they being taught that their being here is the product of the design and intent of an all-wise God, or that they are here with little purpose and purely the product of chance? It makes a difference! The whole outlook on life cultivated by your children will depend to a large extent of what they are taught ABOUT GOD!
When children are young, they are trying to sort out the realities of life. Is the tooth-fairy real, or just a fantasy designed to spice up their lives? Is Santa Claus real, or is he just another myth invented to try to coerce them into being good all year? And what about God? Is God for real, or is He just another invention of parents to keep kids on their good behavior?
As Christian parents, we seem to place little emphasis on what our kids are taught about the reality of God. Yet, at this important stage in life when children are trying to sort out their priorities, it makes a big difference in their lives.
When I was young, and was trying to sort out whether I should place "God" in the same pigeonhole with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, it made a big impact on me to see my school teacher start each day by reading from the Bible and leading us in prayer. I envisioned her as being a very knowledgeable person, a trustworthy leader. And if she believed God was real, then that settled it for me!
So, What are your children being taught about God? What impressions are being left by their teachers and leaders? It is important to think about!
2. About the origin of things
And what are your children being taught about the origin of things? Are they being introduced to the fact that "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth..." (Gen.1:1), or, are they being asked to subscribe to the ridiculous theory that the universe with all its complexity came into being and continues to exist by mere blind chance?
If you are walking through the woods and come upon an automobile parked in the forest, do you lead your children to believe that that car or truck may have just happened there by blind chance or accident of nature? If you think that would be ridiculous, then think just how ridiculous it is to entertain the possibility that the universe with all its complexities; plant, animal and human life with all their intricacies came into being this way.
It is just as logical to come upon a new house and think it just happened there as it is to think that the universe happened without God. Heb. 3:4 states: "For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God."
You would be greatly disturbed if your children were being made to believe some set of superstitious fallacies about the facts of life or things in the natural realm. But why are you not just as concerned when they are led to believe the fanciful tales of evolution and the origin of the universe without a Creator?
3. About being just another animal
What are your children being taught about the different classifications of life on earth? Are they being taught that there are three classifications, or just two? Are your children being taught that there is plant life, animal life and human life--or that there are only the plant and animal kingdoms and that we as humans fit into the animal kingdom right alongside monkeys, gorillas and pigs?
It really does make a difference. As Bible-believers we understand that there is a difference between human life and animal life. The Bible speaks of ..."natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed..." (That is, slaughtered and eaten, 2 Pet. 2:12). They are put here (among other things) for the purpose of putting steaks and hams and stuffed poultry on our tables. God gives us permission to use animals for that purpose. (Acts 10:13) "And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat."
Can you not now see the consequences of teaching your children that they are just another animal? It takes away the idea of the sanctity of human life; it causes them to forget that man, unlike the animals, being made in the image and likeness of God with an immortal soul is on a much higher plane than any of the animals. (Gen. 1:26-28 KJV) "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. {27} So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. {28} And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
I believe we should have regard for animals. The Bible says, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast..." (Prov 12:10). But man is different from the animals. He is made in the image and likeness of God. He has a living spirit; he is to have DOMINION OVER the animal kingdom. That is why God told the Children of Israel of old: (Lev 24:21 KJV) "And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death."
Why do children sometimes think that there is no difference between killing a person and an animal? Why do they tend sometimes to act like animals? Could it be because they are being taught there are only two orders of life on earth, and not three: plant, animal AND human?
4. About respect for Authority
What are your children being taught about respect for authority? Respect for authority has several different stages. First, there is respect for parental authority that children should learn in the home. Then there is respect for law and law enforcement agencies. There is respect for elders and superiors--rulers and leaders. There is respect for other people in general. There is respect for Country, for flag and government. And ultimately, there is respect for God, our Creator.
What are your children being taught in school about respect for parental authority? Is their respect for parental authority being reinforced, or are they being taught to scoff at parents and that they have the right to sue for children's rights? Are they being instilled with the idea that parents only want to domineer over children and keep them suppressed?
And what about respect for law, Country and Flag? You might be surprised at some of the ideas being presented in some circles about such things? It was out of some of the most prominent schools and universities of our land that came the rebellious generation of the sixties who burned flags, called police officers "pigs," and flaunted civil authority.
Parents need to know what their children are being taught about respect for authority. We might be surprised to learn that it does not coincide with what the principles we ourselves hold and have tried to instill into our young people.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY?
1 Pet 2:17 sums it up: "Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king."
Concerning respect for parents: (Exo 20:12) "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."
Concerning respect for one another: (Rom 12:10 ) "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another." And, (Phil 2:3 KJV) "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."
Concerning respect for older people: (Lev 19:32) "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head (the gray-headed), and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD."
Heb 13:17 says, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."
And Eccl 10:20 admonishes: "Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter."
Exo 22:28 says, "Thou shalt not revile the gods (that is, even false gods, idols), nor curse the ruler of thy people."
2 Pet 2:10 shows how God frowns upon those who "walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government," and who are "not afraid to speak evil of dignities."
Jude states of the disrespectful of his day, "Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities." (verse 8).
And Paul said concerning people's attitude of disrespect toward God, "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" (Rom 9:20)
If children are taught the truth about God and how that He made us in His image, they are bound to show Him respect.
5. About accountability
What are your children being taught about being accountable? Are they taught that they must face the consequences of the choices they make and the things they do? Lack of accountability causes people to do some strange and irrational things.
Lessons on accountability start early in childhood. When children have parents and grandparents that try to fix everything for them, they fail to learn that they must face the consequences of what they do. The same children who when they squander their childhood allowance have sympathetic parents to restore their money are likely to be the ones as teens who are calling on their parents to get them out of trouble and out of jail when they break the law and get caught.
So children need to learn that the choices they make in life are consequential and that there won't always be someone there to bail them out if they choose the wrong path.
And, of course, the ultimate lesson in this category is accountability to God. Children need to realize that if they choose to "sow their wild oats" they will have to face the consequences in harvest time. (Eccl 11:9:) "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment."
For a young person to realize that they will be called on to give account to their Creator for the things they have done in life will help them to make far better choices! "Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men..." (2 Cor 5:9-11)
6. About being master or victim of Circumstances?
What are your children being taught concerning whether they are master or victim of circumstances?
Some people grow up thinking because their parents and grandparents were not successful in life that they, too, are doomed to a life of failure; or, to put it another way, that if their ancestors were not high achievers, there is no way they can be high achievers, either. Or that if something befalls a family that causes some economic or developmental setback, they will be life-long victims of circumstance with no way to overcome. Certainly you do not want your children to grow up feeling this way.
Look back into history: some of the greatest achievers came from the least likely of backgrounds. Those who accomplished most, in many cases, had the most obstacles to overcome. The truth of the matter is that each young person is master of his or her own destiny. You are not victim of circumstance! You can become what you set your heart to become; you can be what you want to be. If a person turns out to be a failure in life, he has no one to blame but himself. He cannot blame circumstance or some unfortunate happening of childhood. Each young person needs to be made to see this: that his or her destiny and outcome in life is in their own hands. And thus their question needs to be not "which way will circumstance shove me?" but "Which way will I choose to climb?"
In the Bible, Ezekiel Chapter 18 tells us, "What mean ye, that ye use this proverb.... The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. * * * If a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, * * * If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath ... defiled his neighbour's wife, Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, That hath not...lifted up his eyes to the idols... hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
"Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."
So the Bible says children are not victims of circumstance!
7. About our Country and Freedom
Finally, What are your children being taught about our country and the freedoms that we enjoy?
I can remember when I was in school, back in the "space-race with Russia, cold war" days. I had one teacher who kept telling us how good the Russian government was, and how happy and prosperous the people who lived there were. "All the bad things you hear about Russia," she would say, "is just American propaganda." She told us we were always hearing about Russian propaganda, but assured us that American propaganda was just as real.
What difference does it make? you might ask. It makes just this difference: A young person is not going to grow up to be a very loyal American thinking that a godless, atheistic, socialistic, communistic government where people are not free, is just as good as our government of American freedom for which our ancestors died, based on the philosophy of "In God We Trust."
Our system of government may not be perfect, and may leave some things to be desired. But if it is not better than those of many other countries, not only in freedom, but in opportunity and prosperity, then tell me why so many people from other lands go to such great lengths to make their homes here?
So what are your children being taught in school? Do you really know? Are they being taught things that would undermine the principles of godliness and democracy that we have sought to instill in them?
Do your children come home with strange ideas? It just may be that those ideas originated in the heads of their professors!
--Emerson Blythe
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