The Question Every Christian Parent Should Ask!

by Clint Bishard

 Jesus Created Ministries

One of the most important choices a Christian parent will make involves the education of their children.  The importance of education becomes even clearer when one realizes what the Bible teaches regarding the nature of a child.  The Bible teaches that children are intellectually unstable and easily deceived.  As the apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 13:11, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things", and in Ephesians 4:14 he stated, "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine." Also, Proverbs 22:15 states that "foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child."  Children are immature and inexperienced in life and as a result require special care in their developmental years.  The way a child learns to think when he is younger will have effects on him for a lifetime.

A common question many Christian parent ask is “Should I use the public school, a private school, or homeschool?”  As a creation ministry, we do not believe it is our place to try and dictate to parents which of these choices they should make.  However, as we give creation presentations and point out the pervasiveness of the evolutionary philosophy within our culture, including the educational systems, we often get the question from parents asking what we believe they should do concerning their children’s education.  Therefore, given these requests for advice, I thought I would provide the following feedback.

First, I believe the question above is the wrong question for a Christian parent to ask concerning their children’s education.  Additionally, I believe that many Christian parents ask themselves whether they should put their children in the public school, a private school, or homeschool; and then go to the Scriptures looking for an answer.  They find themselves a little defeated when they are not able to find a direct answer in the Bible.  Yet, I believe that there is a right, and better, question that they should be asking themselves; and upon so doing, will find a clear answer when they search the Scriptures.

So what is the right question?  I believe the right question that every Christian parent should ask is this: “Is my child getting a Christ centered form of education built on Biblical principles?”  Now, going to the Scriptures with this question in mind, we find a load of Biblical support declaring the answer should be “Yes”!  For example, the requirement for a father to "bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:1) is clear, and the mandate to parents to instill God's Word into their children's hearts is equally clear (Deut. 6:6-9).  Likewise, we have the principle from God's Word that if we "Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6).  Also, these passages show that the parents are ultimately responsible for their children's education, regardless of the educational choice they make.  Therefore, if a Christian parent cannot answer this question with a “yes”; they are missing the mark.

In conclusion, I find no litmus test concerning acceptable schooling options from the pages of Scripture, but the Christian parent is still obligated to provide their children with a Christ centered form of education built on Biblical principles during their younger and developing years.  This is the best schooling option however it may come.  If the Christian parent can clearly answer “yes” to the real question in education, they and their children will be blessed!