Educating Our Young

More than twenty-four hundred years ago Socrates said, “Could I climb to the highest place in Athens, I would lift my voice and proclaim: ‘Fellow-citizens, why do ye turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth and take so little care of your children to whom one day you must relinquish it all?'”

I am constantly amazed at how relevant the past seems to be. More than two thousand years have passed and still people seem more interested in accumulating wealth than in caring for their offspring.

Christians are, or ought to be, a different breed.

Children are a gift from God, a blessing to be valued, not abused (Psalm 127:3-5). They are to be loved and cared for by parents who see in them their greatest work. What could be more important than molding young lives to be productive citizens and godly men and women?

Educating our young is a tremendous work.

We should want and demand the best in this regard. Those who educate our children should be the best and brightest among us. They are, after all, engaged in a great work. But, this work can never be completely successful if we expect them to do the job alone.

The real work of educating the young begins at home.

• It is here that a hunger for knowledge and learning must be instilled.
• It is here that morals and values must be enforced.
• It is here that love of God and country must be taught.

When the home does its job, the school will have a much easier time.

The problems in the public schools of America today are the direct result of failures in the home. We, as parents, would do well to take to heart the admonition of Moses, when he said to the Israelites: “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

— Roger