PARENTS’ RESPONSIBILITY
Deuteronomy 11:19
You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.
Ultimately, it is the parents’ responsibility to teach their children the commands and statutes of God in a comprehensive way. By that I mean not just as God’s standards relate to matters of faith, but also as they relate to math, science, the fine arts, the humanities, agriculture, law, or any other disciplines of study that exist. As a parent, you are responsible for your children’s science education, math education, history education, and every other element of their training.
The Bible locates the comprehensive education of children in the home and lays the charge at the feet of the parents so that their children learn to think God’s thoughts after Him in every area of life. Now I know what you’re thinking. Mom or Dad can’t recall their trigonometry, if they ever took it. And neither one remembers much about geography. How can parents be responsible for their children’s education if they don’t know the curriculum, especially as the children get older? Being responsible doesn’t mean you have to carry out your children’s education yourself. But it does mean that the responsibility stops with you when it comes to making sure that God’s kingdom agenda for education is being accomplished in your family. Since most of us parents are not equipped to teach our children in a comprehensive way, we have turned that day-to-day task over to the schools. Ideally, your child’s education at school should be an extension of the instruction he or she is receiving at home, because biblically it is the parents who should occupy the seat of influence when it comes to education.
REFLECTION: Why does God’s truth matter even when it comes to “secular” disciplines? How are you making sure to take responsibility for your children’s education? Do your children understand the foundation of God’s truth to all of learning? Lord, I lift up the parents I know and ask that You will remind them to teach their children concerning Your laws, Your Word, and Your way.
No Comments