The Blessing Or Curse Of The Education You Chose.

Before we get to today’s article, I just want to mention that am writing from the perspective of a man that has experienced many of the challenges of which I write…. and those spiritual battles continue daily. The articles are implications of what it means to obey the commandment to raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. They require some reflection and are particularly for Christians who, as Peter would say, are diligently seeking to confirm their calling and are making every effort to supplement their faith. Said more succinctly, serious Christians. If you know other believers who desire to walk more faithfully with the Lord, please forward an article to them and tell them to sign up for future articles. Thanks so much!

Last week was graduation week and I had the joy of seeing another class graduate from the school I labored at for 22 years. Due to another family commitment, I was not able to get the school in time to enjoy the graduation ceremony but did get some time afterwards with the parents and students that I had known for many years.

The ceremony was held in the school gymnasium and as I walked in, I observed and experienced a variety of emotions. Our school is academically rigorous and for some students and their parents, the work that they had to put in strained them for many years. For others, it was easier but still a challenge. In either case, the euphoria that comes with crossing the finish line of a marathon was on the faces of students and their parents. Many had been at the school for a good number of years and a handful attending since kindergarten- a grand total of 13 years! There was also the great sigh of relief that they no longer had papers to write and examinations to take. And there was that great sense of accomplishment.

But for me, the best part of the day was the speech from the Valedictorian. Because I showed up late, I did not hear it live, but thanks to the recording that was posted on YouTube the following day, I was able to enjoy it from home. He spoke of his time at the school and the formation of his own character as it was cultivated over his 13 years. He gave thanks for his teachers and the time and investment that they made in him, and the security and comfort of coming back to the school he knew and trusted each year. But what he really wanted to stress was how the school taught him to reason- that is, to think deeply about the world within the context of Biblical truth. For me, and I am sure everyone that works at the school, his words validated every day’s effort of helping parents train their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. It was the evidence of what God can do when faithful teachers teach all of the subjects within the glorious framework of the Bible.

As in previous years, I walked out of the building and reflected on the fact that what had just happened in this 400 student Christian school was not being duplicated elsewhere in our county- a county that presently has more than 41,000 school aged children. That’s not entirely true because we have to also factor into our calculation that there are about 2,000 Christian homeschoolers families in our county so maybe the number of kids being Christian schooled is about 2,400. AndiIf you do a little basic math on this graduation week, you will see that there are less than 6% of the students in our county attending a Christian school – a county that many would call a “Christian” county.

Sure, there are people who can’t afford our Christian school tuition and other families that can’t do Christian homeschooling, but there are many who can and choose not to. Clearly, there is something terribly wrong. As I thought about this sad reality, the joy and thanksgiving that I had coming out of the gymnasium after the ceremony quickly changed to lamentation.

There is a lot to think about when it comes to educational decisions, so I have written and recorded a number of podcast episodes for Christian parents to consider. There are no do overs on your child’s education. When they get to graduation day, you will be faced with a child that has been blessed by your educational decisions or cursed.

I’m going to get you started with something that I recorded called,” Ten Ways To Harden A Child’s Heart Toward God.” It’s only 18 minutes long, so you might be able to have a quick listen while on the way to work or when you go for a walk. Here is the link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherish-ephesians-6-4-presents-critical-considerations/id1678162250?i=1000605063213

You may also notice that that episode is one of 6 episodes on the topic of education. The entire podcast is titled, “Cherish Ephesians 6:4 Presents Critical Considerations for Christian Parents About Your Child’s Education.” There is a lot there to consider and I hope you will listen to each episode.

In addition to that series of episodes, I now have 11 other separate podcast shows that I am filling with audio episodes of various topics to help Christian parents. For instance, I am seeing quite a few plays on “Cherish Ephesians 6:4 Presents Thoughts For Young Men.” This is based on a wonderful booklet written by the great Pastor J.C Ryle. You can find that one here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherish-ephesians-6-4-presents-thoughts-for-young-men/id1673847428

Some of you may know that last week I released a new podcast on managing money. That one is called, “Cherish Ephesians 6:4 Presents Choose Your Master: God Or Money.” You can find that one by going here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cherish-ephesians-6-4-presents-choose-your-master-god/id1683382182

In the weeks ahead, I’ll be highlighting one episode each week from various “Cherish Ephesians 6:4 Presents” on topics such as:

How Can I Stop Losing It With My Kids?
Angry Children
Family Feuds- How To Respond
Duties Of Parents
From Religion To Christ

And by the way, I apologize to all of the non-Apple people who may not be able to get to these podcasts on Google play or some other way. Lord willing, we will soon have all of this up on the Cherish Ephesians 64 website. Thanks for listening.