Blind Trust: A False Security

"Public school is bad. Home school is good." This is the mantra that many more Christians are saying these days for obvious reasons. The public school system continues to dive deeper into the cesspool of biblical immorality with it's promotion of sexual promiscuity, abortion, same-sex relationships and other perverse lifestyles, and so forth. With their desire to expose their children only to those topics and environments which THEY choose, parents are becoming more proactive and taking the education of their children into their own hands. For those parents who are able to do this, I applaud you. Keep in mind, however, that this DOES NOT mean that those parents who cannot home school are bad parents. Viable reasons exist as to why Christian parents -- including single Christian parents -- cannot home school. To those I encourage you to stay involved with your children's education. You will have a profound positive effect on your children's public school influenced lives.

What I would like to highlight in this posting is the existence of what I would call a blind trust -- or a blind faith -- that many Christian parents place in their church and in the Christian schools to which their children attend. To believe that one's child is safe in the Christian school and even in the church they attend is a false belief that the Devil would like for you to have and even to promote. More damage can be done and has been done to children via a child's Christian school education and church education/instruction than what can occur in a public school setting. Am I suggesting that parents not place their children in private Christian schools or in a church setting involving age appropriate departments like Sunday schools or church services? Not necessarily. However, as is advised to parents who place their children in public schools, I advise the same to parents in these settings as well. Be involved in your children's education, especially when that education is spiritual in nature.

A surprising statistic exists which states that over 70% of Christian church raised children leave the church environment upon graduation from high school. The reasons vary, but one reason which could greatly reduce this percentage relates to parents' involvement in the lives of their children, especially on the spiritual side of things. Too many parents turn the spiritual education of their children over to church leaders. From 2-3 church services a week to Sunday school and other church classes to weekly church functions, parents can easily allow themselves to get lulled into a spiritual sleep. Many falsely believe that their children are being spiritually well-fed when in fact what the parents have wrongly done is to shirk their spiritual rolls and responsibilities onto others. The results are a spiritual anorexia. Children are being taught false or watered down doctrines and, in essence, are thrown into a state of spiritual confusion -- knowing full well that those who should be responsible for their spiritual education are being negligent. Thus, children are being passively taught by their parents that they can shirk their spiritual responsibilities as well. Furthermore, children are being passively taught by their parents to look to others for their spiritual instruction, resulting in many a misplaced emotional and spiritual connections. When children begin to rely on others to be their parents on spiritual matters, disaster is just around the corner.

I understand that exceptions may exist in some children's lives, but I am not referring to these exceptions. I am solely referring to parents who are spiritually lazy and spiritually blind to their actions. I am referring to those parents who think that because their children attend Christian schools or God fearing, Bible believing, evangelical, soul-winning churches that what goes on in these institutions is 100% correct. I am referring to those parents who drop off their children to others for spiritual instruction all the while not questioning -- or even correcting -- what their children learned. I am talking to those parents who provide less to no spiritual instruction at home compared to what their children receive at church or in their Christian school.

Christian parents......WAKE UP to the damage you are creating in the lives of your children.  First and foremost, our desire should be for our children to develop a thirst and longing to have a close and personal relationship with God. Secondly, we should want our children to look to us for their spiritual instruction. When a child begins to look to someone else as their spiritual parent, something is obviously wrong in our lives. That may sound conceited to some, but the Bible is clear as to our role as parents as being the spiritual leaders in the lives of our children. This role is not simply left to the confines of our house walls, as some preachers would want you to believe. Stop shirking your roles as spiritual leaders of your children's lives. The training of your children especially includes the spiritual.