Part One of a Series by Kathy Lowers, Founder of Considering Homeschooling
If you are like me, you are in recovery mode from this painful election. To see voters, including so many Christians, not care that their candidate intends to "spread the wealth around" or more likely they could not recognize communist rhetoric when it was slapping them in the face... is disturbing.
To watch voters not blink an eye that their guy had his career launched by someone who had bombed the Pentagon or maybe they just were not tuned in to the tiny sliver of the media that actually reported this... is disconcerting.
To observe that half the nation did not hold it against their candidate that he is so pro-abortion that he is off the charts or perhaps they got so excited about "making history" they forgot that murder is wrong... is disheartening.
Further, to see that these voters did not mind that their candidate opposed efforts to stop the perversion of marriage by homosexuals or very likely they believed his rhetoric about being Christian... is alarming.
And, to realize that all these voters did not seem bothered in the least that he was endorsed by a top Hamas leader, Fidel Castro, and other horrifying figures or obviously his Hollywood endorsements were all that mattered... invites commentary.
As for those of us who have been given children by God at this time in history, it also invites serious thought on how we can raise up Christian voters who understand, with unshakable conviction, what type of economic system and moral laws are in line with God's Word. We need to train our children to screen candidates for biblical values rather than be swayed by the utopian visions of man-made messiahs.
This election highlighted that the view held by many American churches that evangelism alone will transform the culture is not true. The people in the churches, including some self-appointed leaders in Christianity, are messed up voters, too. Masses of Christians voted for the most pro-abortion, most pro-homosexual, most openly socialist president in U.S. history. What in the rearing of these voters, in the discipleship of these Christians, guided them to vote for image, race or getting something free from the government over biblical values?
The fact is, there is something seriously wrong in the upbringing of Christian children, as quite a lot of them grow up to vote like pagans. Could it be that the two main sources of training for most American Christian minds are the public schools and the media -- instead of their parents and the church? Those families that remove the grip of the media from their children's lives by cutting out TV are doing a noble deed. But getting rid of the TV, as hard as that is for the average Joe Christian, is still a lot easier than giving up his dependence on freebie government schools.
Having many kids and making sure they have a rigorous Christian education is a tough sacrifice. Yet if Christians had (or adopted) more children and gave them a solid Christian upbringing, the result of future elections would be much different than what we just encountered. I know most Christians either cannot afford Christian school or they live in an area devoid of solid Christian schools. That leaves homeschooling as the most viable option in Christian education for families who can create a safe, loving, educational, Christ-centered home. But most people do not homeschool because, quite frankly, it is the uphill path. So why take that path? We believe, based on the fruit we see in others' lives, that homeschooling in the Lord will give us a better chance at having children who will be loyal to Jesus.
Taking the public school route is free and easy -- at least in the short run. But, you get what you pay for, so to speak, and the jails, abortion clinics, and political positions in our communities are filled with the natural consequences of secular schooling.
Weekday mornings are seen as time of deliverance for the moms in most neighborhoods around the country. You can almost hear a collective sigh of relief at 8am or so, as the state takes on the expense and the bother of the children all day. But at the same time in the morning as most mothers are being relieved of their responsibility, homeschoolers like me are just rolling up our sleeves and getting to work at educating our children. With four young kids and two toddlers in my house, that is an energetic undertaking. The typical mom and I are worlds apart regarding what happens in our day during those next six hours (or longer, if they sign up for after school care). I don't get to go to the mall, spa, watch TV or make money at a job. Homeschooling six children on a shoe string is a juggling act -- a really interesting, fun challenge most of the time, but a struggle at other times. But, I know I am sowing towards the future -- that is what keeps me optimistic, keeps me chugging on despite whatever roadblocks Satan throws in family's way. We know God would have us bring up the children this way. What God has ordained, what His will is, no man or circumstance can stop.
I was convinced to homeschool before I ever even met my husband. And, he was sure he would homeschool before he ever met me. Active in the pro-life movement, I met all these wonderful children and teens who were homeschooled. They were polite, sincerely pro-life, and really seemed to know the Lord. Nothing wins over people to home education more effectively than the living testimony of well-raised homeschooled children.
I cannot tell you how many dear Christian friends I have known over the years in pro-family grass roots activism who have been shipwrecked from letting their children learn from the world's schools. To picket Planned Parenthood for years and then to discover their own children frequent the place, is so devastating for them. The image became clear to me -- did I want a child who one day would try to save babies as a teen or a teen who would be a client of Planned Parenthood? I know that homeschooled children sometimes choose the world too, but statistically, it is much less than the public school children. And that makes sense -- the teacher that spends the most time with the student... well, Jesus said it best: "A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher." (Luke 6:40)
Whoever schools your children sets the stage for what your kids do when they get old enough to "dis" you. And whoever schools your children controls their vote because they teach them in what manner to think. Trying to undo the damage every night, like some Christians think they can, is nearly impossible. There is too much homework to do and too many activities to establish yourself as a force greater than the teachers in their life. Parents with children in any school really are giving up much more sway with their youngsters than they realize. Your nights and weekends with your child cannot counteract what they have learned from secular sources the bulk of the week.
I know so many beautiful Christian sisters who tell me they pray for their children who are enrolled in public school, that they tell them to witness to their friends, etc. But, ultimately, as the Lord says, the student is not above his teacher. The child was placed by the parent under the authority of those teachers, to get wisdom. But the false wisdom of the world is in direct conflict with the real wisdom of God. The child, in his heart, is forced to make the ultimate choice between the false gods and way of thinking of his or her teachers and the true God and way of thinking of his or her parents.
I believe that if you are a God-fearing parent who can create a safe, loving learning environment for children in your home, that you should be considering homeschooling right now if you aren't already homeschooling. Homeschooling your child is not a guarantee they will not forsake the values you have instilled, but they have a fighting chance at comprehending the significance of having godly leaders, not to mention they will have a better chance at receiving and following the Lord Jesus.
While this election shocked me, I have to say I have more hope than I have ever had for our country, in part because of what God is doing through homeschooling. Look at how homeschoolers, still a small fraction of total students in this country, have already been recognized as a political force in several notable local and state elections. Just imagine if a thousands, tens of thousands, millions more Christian families homeschooled.
The thought I will leave you with is this... whoever schools the children impacts the future. If every Christian child received a sold Christian education, there would be real change in the course this country is taking. And since the United States is still the most powerful country in the world, whoever schools the children ultimately influences a lot in the world, too. Sacrificing to homeschool holds such hope in these trying times... consider making that sacrifice.