Christian education is a worthwhile sacrifice, but like any sacrifice it can be
tempting to second-guess whether or not it is worth it. Christian education costs money and
requires a lot of time, wouldn’t it be easier to send them
to the government school? After all, they have sports and other
extra-curricular activities and they are “free”!
Before I go on I want to make one thing clear: I
would never say that sending kids to a state school is a sin. God gives you as
parents the authority to determine the best means and ways to educate your
children and I would never seek to put myself in the place of God. What I want
to do is remind everyone that sending children to a Christian school is a
good and wise investment and a worthwhile sacrifice.
I sincerely believe that the more we understand
what education truly is, the more we will come to value Christian education. Education is not the mere imparting of
technique but rather the forming of a complete and mature person that knows
where, how, and why to use the knowledge he or she has acquired. Our
government schools often do a good job at imparting technique. However, they
lack any type of unified or coherent worldview, which makes it impossible for
them to effectively train students in the moral use of knowledge.
Let me give you a couple of examples to explain
what I mean. In terms of engineering and computer technology our society is
growing by leaps and bounds. Our scientists, who are largely trained in secular
institutions, are right now on the verge of massive breakthroughs in robot
technology. This could turn out to be a boon for humanity, yet it is alarming
that in the midst of this growth in technique our leaders are marked by a
fundamental confusion regarding the nature of people. Many of our leaders
believe that people are simply highly evolved biological machines. If people
are flesh machines and robots are metal machines, it follows that there is no
fundamental distinction between a robot and a human being. Once this is
believed it logically follows that robots should be entitled to the same fundamental
rights as human beings, which is exactly what one committee in the European
Union is recommending (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/12/give-robots-personhood-status-eu-committee-argues). We may be able to build great robots in the future, but what good
will it do us if we can’t even recognize the difference between a robot and a
human being?
Like government schools Christian schools teach
applied mathematics and science. However, we also teach students how knowledge
should be used and why it should be sought after. Technological progress is not
necessarily good. We can build airplanes to bring medicine and food to the
needy or we can build them to drop bombs on the innocent. It is not enough to
teach technique, we must instruct our students on how to use it. Without this
they will grow up not recognizing the difference between a creature of man (a
robot) and a creature of God (mankind), which will certainly lead to future
problems.
Likewise, government schools teach students to read
and write, just like we do. Learning to read is a part of education, but mere
literacy is not enough. To be fully educated a student must learn what is worth
reading and must learn how to judge what he or she is reading in light of God’s
revealed truth.
In our government schools students are regularly
forced to read things that contradict God’s standards and His word. For
example, there are many teachers that indoctrinate students with works that
normalize sexual perversion (http://abc11.com/education/school-book-backlash-in-efland-sparks-fiery-meeting/724976/). I for one do not want my young, innocent children to hear a fairytale
about a brave king that defies his parents to marry another king. It is true
that when we find out about these things we can correct what our students are
learning, but how much of what goes on in school are we unaware of? And do we
really want to force our children to decide between believing their parents and
believing their teachers? Would it not be better to be in a school where
parents and teachers cooperate and work together in raising and training up
children in Godliness?
To give just one last example, state schools teach
about how the human body functions, but they cannot and do not teach about how
we are fallen creatures made in the image of God and what that fact means for
life on earth. Let me explain. God made both men and women in His image—that
means both men and women reflect the goodness and glory of God. From this it
follows that men should seek to glorify God as men and the same goes for women;
to seek to become otherwise than what God has made us clouds the image and
glory of God. Similarly, as fallen creatures men and women have depraved sexual
desires. As such we have developed institutions and systems to keep people from
falling into temptation and sin. Our state schools, even though they can
effectively teach how blood flows and how the liver works, cannot and do not
teach these truths. Instead they say there is no fundamental difference between
men and women, that each person can choose their gender (or choose to have no
gender or choose to invent a gender), and that the systems, like bathrooms,
that kept men and women apart and from temptation are unneeded or even
repressive (http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/whos-afraid-of-same-sex-bathrooms). As Christians we know and teach that God created us and placed us in a
universe with physical laws (like gravity) as well as moral laws (like do not
murder). Wisdom is found not in ignoring or seeking to change these laws, but
rather in learning and obeying them. A person that knows how kidneys work but
doesn’t know that mankind is made in God’s image does not have a full or real
education.
At Christian Schools we seek to educate not
just the brain and the body, but the mind and the soul. We seek not to just
impart knowledge, but wisdom. We seek not to teach just technique, but the
purpose of technology and the way in which it should be used. Our kids need
this if they are to become full and mature adults.
I could say a lot more about the benefits of Christian schools, from the Godly examples demonstrated daily in our teachers’ words and
actions to the academic rigor of our curricula and the high performance of our
students, but this is too long already.
If you are not certain you are making the right
decision in sending your children to a Christian school, rest assured. Sending your children to a Christian school is
a sacrifice, but it is a worthwhile one and one you will not regret.
