How old do you have to be to be the salt of the earth or let your light shine?

[WIP]

I remember my high school chemistry teacher expounding on the 2nd law of thermodynamics. He stated that it proves that the universe would persist for billions of years, slowly becoming more random instead of ordered.

Oh yes. I see your point. It may not have been intentional (may have) but teachers and others as well as me will often use words that are not exactly accurate. A theory is never proof and for a teacher to use the word "prove" with regard to a theory is totally inaccurate.

But now I have to go back to my position. No matter what teachers are teaching in school, the parents have the task of making sure their children keep everything in perspective. We can't shelter our children from the world but we do have the task of teaching them and helping them to not be of the world.

 

[Michael74]

I'm betting that when the parents do the teaching (with Christian background) the children tend to follow the parents' teaching more often than the school's teaching.

I agree that parents should teach their children about such things. However, I really don't see the point in subjecting young impressionable minds to the public school system at all. Why should parents have to try and overcome daily pagan influences? They are children, not short missionaries. Many of them are not even saved yet. The Bible commands parents:

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 KJV

Children need to be trained properly. Why let strangers raise them who will not do this? Free babysitting is not training children up in the way they should go. Its just allowing random strangers to do whatever.

 

[WIP]

I've always felt as a parent my task was not to protect my children but my task was to teach them how to protect themselves. I have never felt that locking our children into a box until they were 18 and then letting them out to fend for themselves for example was the right approach. I think our children are far more resilient and strong than we are giving them credit for. A child that has a good Christian teacher (parent) will be able to withstand a lot. In fact, I'm thinking they might be able to handle more than a typical adult because they trust their parents and God more than we adults do. Just my opinion.

 

[Stan1953]

Not necessarily, but teachers can promote their own agenda. I remember my high school chemistry teacher expounding on the 2nd law of thermodynamics. He stated that it proves that the universe would persist for billions of years, slowly becoming more random instead of ordered.
This directly contradicts what the Bible says about end times. He did not directly say that Christianity was a myth, but anyone who accepted his statement would be logically be obligated to consider the Bible to be a myth.
Maybe you went to a nice Bible belt school in the suburbs that hired a lot of Christians as teachers. Things are not always so roseate in many inner city schools. The conditions in some schools are astonishing. Don't even ask the agenda that many students there promote.

Yes, teachers CAN and DO this, which is the reason Christian parents should be ever vigilant. I have no control over non-believing parents or teachers but the law is still on my side as a parent and I know how to use my words, so IF I discover a teacher is misusing or abusing their position, I WILL address them accordingly. I've been through all of this, having raised 4 kids who are now all grown up and married, but am just as concerned about my grandchildren today and I see that my kids are doing exactly as I raised them up to do. God's Word is faithful and true!

 

[Stan1953]

I've always felt as a parent my task was not to protect my children but my task was to teach them how to protect themselves. I have never felt that locking our children into a box until they were 18 and then letting them out to fend for themselves for example was the right approach. I think our children are far more resilient and strong than we are giving them credit for. A child that has a good Christian teacher (parent) will be able to withstand a lot. In fact, I'm thinking they might be able to handle more than a typical adult because they trust their parents and God more than we adults do. Just my opinion.

 

[reba]

Pro_22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

I dont read this as "send a child out for training" .

The public school i worked in i would not want to send my kids to ...that does not mean all public schools are like that one.

 

[Stan1953]

Pro_22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
I dont read this as "send a child out for training" .
The public school i worked in i would not want to send my kids to ...that does not mean all public schools are like that one.

You're absolutely correct, which is why it has to start at home. The training is Biblical in nature which is OUR responsibility as Christian parents. Academics is what they should learn at school, not all the accompanying garbage.

 

[reba]

Todays academics are not free of tons of trash...(Speaking of California schools) A niece in a literary class, the required reading was of a Hispanic girls plight of being a lesbian. My daughter's health class the benefits of oral sex. Distorted history.. Son came home from school tell me he did not have to do chores he had rights 4th grade... the year they left public school...

 

[Stan1953]

Well I can ONLY relate to the public school system in Canada, where parent still have rights, and one of them is to not allow your kids to go to classes like you mention. Mine we always excuse from sex ed.

 

[jasonc]

that's normal for the poor inner city kids. those you want to save. so they are going to move into your neighborhood or you go to them. I described an area where I live now and lived. I live in a quiet area compared to the real issues in the city.http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/community_violence_effects_children

I guess its not normal from where I sit then. not that I have that but some. there are schools in the middle of that. a few of them in the county to the south.

Please try to keep in mind the context of my OP and what we are dealing with here. IMO it's not kosher to bring up extreme exceptions.

 

[Deborah13]

Well I can ONLY relate to the public school system in Canada, where parent still have rights, and one of them is to not allow your kids to go to classes like you mention. Mine we always excuse from sex ed.

The problem is that sex ed. is incorporated in required classes, such as sciences and as Reba pointed out even literary classes. They have made it so that parents don't have control unless they pull their kids out.
I also have 4 grown children. It wasn't that way here until recently. This has been a red state for a long time and only recently has turned purple and the battle has just begun.
Our school has been really good because of the type of people who live here but state regulations are changing the environments in our schools. We have more and more liberals in our state government each year. That's how this recreational marijuana laws got passed in our state!

 

[~Lexy~]

This came up in another thread that I didn't want to address and derail, but why do some Christians think it is better to send their kids to Christian schools? Is not the biblical imperative to be the salt of the earth as Christians and let our light shine? Does that not hold true for our kids?

I feel that honestly, the choice of sending a child into a public school or to a Christian school, or possibly even home-schooling them, all really depends on the child. As far as exposure to non-believers in public school, I haven't worried about this with my son much. He always comes to me with questions, trusts what I teach him, we read scripture together and pray together about whatever he may bring before me. Last year he had heard a girl, in the grade above him, use the exclamation "OMG!" now, being the little boy he is, he came home and asked me what it stood for. When I explained the meaning and that she had actually unknowingly used an abbreviation for a statement that used the Lord's name in vain, he was appalled. The very next day he told the girl (a Catholic, Hispanic girl) what that saying meant while her and her friends were standing in the hall way. All of the girls were surprised and none of them have used the exclamation again. My pastor's two children are wonderful examples of two Christian high schoolers that are a wonderful example for their peers (both believers and non-believers).

However, some children even when raised in a Christian home can falter. I had a friend when I was in high school. Her mother was a wonderful, kind and involved Christian woman raising her two daughters. My friend knew and had been taught from a very young age to be a believer and how to live a Christian life. They moved to a neighboring town with a bigger high school. She started using drugs, dating a guy that was high ranking in the town's toughest gang, and just after we graduated from high-school I lost track of her and to this day have no idea what happened to her or where she is. She is an example of a kid that needed exposure to other Christian kids her age instead of being left to be led astray by exposure to kids of "the world".

Thus, every parent needs to be observant of their child and decide if the exposures at their school has a negative affect on the child or not. They can then decide for their own child what school is more appropriate for them and their child.

 

[WIP]

Hi Deb,

If we as parents exercise due diligence to know what the kids are being taught (even when it is part of a required class) we have the responsibility to spend time with them, ask them what they learned, and then teach them the correct information so they know what their parents believe. I think it is when we parents don't get involved that we send the message to the child that what they are learning in school is okay and proper. If they don't know we disagree they will follow. I read somewhere that the average parent does not do this. The average parent does what I've already described...they send their children to school and leave it at that. This sends the wrong message by inadvertently telling our children what they learn in school is appropriate.

I will agree it is most definitely an uphill battle all the way and getting worse. Maybe in some cases the right choice is to pull them out of the public education system and home school or choose a suitable private school. All three choices requires sacrifice and work if we are truly interested in what our children are being taught. Even in Christian schools we will disagree with some of what is being taught.

 

[Deborah13]

I've always felt as a parent my task was not to protect my children but my task was to teach them how to protect themselves. I have never felt that locking our children into a box until they were 18 and then letting them out to fend for themselves for example was the right approach. I think our children are far more resilient and strong than we are giving them credit for. A child that has a good Christian teacher (parent) will be able to withstand a lot. In fact, I'm thinking they might be able to handle more than a typical adult because they trust their parents and God more than we adults do. Just my opinion.

How do you teach your kids to respect their teachers and in the same breath tell them their teacher doesn't know what they are talking about when it comes to evolution, homosexuality, etc.
Talk about confusing small children.

 

[Stan1953]

The problem is that sex ed. is incorporated in required classes, such as sciences and as Reba pointed out even literary classes. They have made it so that parents don't have control unless they pull their kids out.
I also have 4 grown children. It wasn't that way here until recently. This has been a red state for a long time and only recently has turned purple and the battle has just begun.
Our school has been really good because of the type of people who live here but state regulations are changing the environments in our schools. We have more and more liberals in our state government each year. That's how this recreational marijuana laws got passed in our state!

LOL...don't get me going on that pot issue. I did have to pull my kids out of sex ed class and they just went to the library. It still is NOT mandatory in Canada and I'm very surprised it would be in the U.S.

 

[Stan1953]

How do you teach your kids to respect their teachers and in the same breath tell them their teacher doesn't know what they are talking about when it comes to evolution, homosexuality, etc.
Talk about confusing small children.

I guess it depends on if you are also teaching your children how to separate what people believe from who they are. It's not hard to respect people while disagreeing with what they believe, although that does frequently rear it's ugly head in public maybe Christian parents need to do a better job at teaching respect vs disagreement.

 

[Stan1953]

I feel that honestly, the choice of sending a child into a public school or to a Christian school, or possibly even home-schooling them, all really depends on the child. As far as exposure to non-believers in public school, I haven't worried about this with my son much. He always comes to me with questions, trusts what I teach him, we read scripture together and pray together about whatever he may bring before me. Last year he had heard a girl, in the grade above him, use the exclamation "OMG!" now, being the little boy he is, he came home and asked me what it stood for. When I explained the meaning and that she had actually unknowingly used an abbreviation for a statement that used the Lord's name in vain, he was appalled. The very next day he told the girl (a Catholic, Hispanic girl) what that saying meant while her and her friends were standing in the hall way. All of the girls were surprised and none of them have used the exclamation again. My pastor's two children are wonderful examples of two Christian high schoolers that are a wonderful example for their peers (both believers and non-believers).

However, some children even when raised in a Christian home can falter. I had a friend when I was in high school. Her mother was a wonderful, kind and involved Christian woman raising her two daughters. My friend knew and had been taught from a very young age to be a believer and how to live a Christian life. They moved to a neighboring town with a bigger high school. She started using drugs, dating a guy that was high ranking in the town's toughest gang, and just after we graduated from high-school I lost track of her and to this day have no idea what happened to her or where she is. She is an example of a kid that needed exposure to other Christian kids her age instead of being left to be led astray by exposure to kids of "the world".

Thus, every parent needs to be observant of their child and decide if the exposures at their school has a negative affect on the child or not. They can then decide for their own child what school is more appropriate for them and their child.

I understand what you are saying but my point is IF we really trust God, He knows best and as He is the one who said we are not to hide our light or we are the salt of the earth, was He only speaking to parents? As your post shows, your good parenting allows and equips your child to deal with these issues. He knows he can depend on you. Sadly some kids don't know that as their parents act like the school system is their daytime adjunct parent, when it is NOT. Parenting is a FULL time 24 hour a day job. May God make all Christian parents extremely and keenly aware of their chosen task. Their is a very good reason why the Bible teaches that parents are to be honoured. They have a VERY important job.

 

[Deborah13]

LOL...don't get me going on that pot issue. I did have to pull my kids out of sex ed class and they just went to the library. It still is NOT mandatory in Canada and I'm very surprised it would be in the U.S.

It is not a separate class that you can just pull your kid out. They are incorporating this stuff into Regular science classes, such as Health Science, Biology, etc. that are required sciences.

If these things were being addressed in a separate class as it was with your kids that would be different.

I don't want my grandchildren reading about homosexual life in a REQUIRED English class as Reba niece did and neither do their parents.

You don't seem to understand that our choices are being taken away. It's sneaky and deception. Who do you think is behind that?

 

[Deborah13]

I understand what you are saying but my point is IF we really trust God, He knows best and as He is the one who said we are not to hide our light or we are the salt of the earth, was He only speaking to parents? As your post shows, your good parenting allows and equips your child to deal with these issues. He knows he can depend on you. Sadly some kids don't know that as their parents act like the school system is their daytime adjunct parent, when it is NOT. Parenting is a FULL time 24 hour a day job. May God make all Christian parents extremely and keenly aware of their chosen task. Their is a very good reason why the Bible teaches that parents are to be honoured. They have a VERY important job.

Stan, why didn't you trust God when your school was teaching sex ed. classes?

 

[Stan1953]

It is not a separate class that you can just pull your kid out. They are incorporating this stuff into Regular science classes, such as Health Science, Biology, etc. that are required sciences.
If these things were being addressed in a separate class as it was with your kids that would be different.
I don't want my grandchildren reading about homosexual life in a REQUIRED English class as Reba niece did and neither do their parents.
You don't seem to understand that our choices are being taken away. It's sneaky and deception. Who do you think is behind that?

Like I said I only know the Canadian educational system. I did look this up and found the following;
http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-policies-on-sex-education-in-schools.aspx

With all due respect your grandchildren are the responsibility of your children. Concern is fin but if you raised them based on sound Biblical principles they will do the same thing.
I understand many people REACT, but are not proactive. I have a lot of friends who live in the U.S. and I don't get the same impression you are conveying.
No doubt the enemy is and always has been the source of these attacks against the people of God, but it's not new.