When we started home educating, I had not quite banked on all the added bonuses. I did not realise quite how much fun I would find it, how I would enjoy the close relationships with my children as they get older (I’m not just in it for the cute, baby stage), the extra family time and the freedom from dancing to the tune of the state.
Amid all the extras, it is easy to loose sight of the greatest privilege of Christian education, namely, teaching our children a Christian worldview. At the time of writing, it is difficult to see where we will be as a nation in six months time, let alone in sixteen years time. We really do not know what sort of world our adult children will inhabit and our grandchildren will be born into. There is a temptation to be fearful, except for this: the certain knowledge that those Christians who love the Lord whole heartedly, and cling to his word steadfastly are unsinkable ships.
The miracle of salvation is in the Lord’s hands, but as parents we have a duty and responsibility to DELIBERATELY teach our children a biblical worldview. As the days roll by, the task becomes more urgent in my eyes.
It has been suggested to me that I am not giving my children a choice as to what they believe. They are not being allowed to make up their minds for themselves. On the contrary, my concern is that schools are not giving children the choice of what to believe. If schoolchildren are taught mostly by unbelievers an uncritical curriculum that endorses such unbiblical ideas as evolution, billions of years, same sex marriage, radical environmentalism, and all the fads and fancies of this age, then are they really being given a choice as to what to believe? I am not worried that my children will never learn about the counterfeit ideas of this point of history. Of course they will! However, as their parent my concern is to teach them a biblical worldview so that they are able to discern what is false.
How can we go underpinning home education with the teaching of worldview?
1. We must guard our own hearts. Many of the messages from the world are extremely deceptive and may well have influenced us. Like the Bereans, we need to examine the Scriptures daily to check that we are hearing is true (Acts 17:11). How can we hope to teach our children a biblical worldview if our faith is low and our walk is unsteady? I am not so far away from the baby stage to think that early morning quiet times are possible after a night spent nursing a newborn. However, in normal life, when nothing extraordinary is going on, it is so important to take that regular time of prayer and Bible reading, to make a habit of listening to good sermons and reading great books to keep our faith sharp.
2. We do not need to overcomplicate things, especially with younger children. First impressions are everything! If our children know the truth and know it truly, they will be able to manage many of the lies that the world throws at them. For example, we want our children to learn about marriage so we deliberately teach them that it is a covenant under God, for life, between a man and woman. This is easily presented in the first few chapters of Genesis. We need not worry about explaining all the distortions of this truth when they are young. At some point, I can guarentee, they will come across a different version of God’s ideal. If they have a tender conscience, and if they have already been exposed to the truth then they will be equipped to recognise what dishonours the Lord.
3. Reading the Bible and praying together as a family is key. As the leader of the household, the husband should be responsible for this (although it is absolutely right for the wife to step up to the plate if she is by herself or if the husband fails to do so). If children are used to talking about spiritual things with their parents, my (limited!) experience is that they will continue to do so as they grow older.
4. Make use of the little helps God has supplied. A Christian curriculum is not essential but it is extremely helpful. What do I mean by this? I mean, that I could take most curricula and use them to point to Christ, but it is more work for me. At this time, Christian education is becoming more and popular and we can profit from so many mums and dads who have gone before us and written their own God-honouring teaching books in their area of expertise. It is far easier to use books that have done some of the thinking for us. We have profited enormously from Mystery of History and Answers in Genesis ‘God’s Design for Science’. However, I know there are many other great choices available.
What an opportunity we could miss – to have our children with us for so many hours of their childhood, and to forget to prioritise the teaching of a biblical worldview. As many of us start another day of home education, let’s pray that God will show us how to deliberately teach our little ones to view the world through his eyes.
