The Five Pillars of Biblical Christian Education
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Now that your children are back in school, I want to encourage you as a parent
to ensure that you are equipped to take a primary role in their education.
Whether they are in public or private school, or whether you home-school them,
there are some simple things you can do to make sure they receive God’s best for
their life, NOW and FOREVER!
I have put together 5 pillars of a Biblical education that you should be sure
are instilled in your children. Let me state the obvious—the school your
children go to, is not responsible for making sure these things are instilled in
your kids—YOU ARE, as their parent. Proverbs 22:6 says to parents: “Train up a
child in the way he should go, and even when he is old, he won’t depart”. (I
like the BBE Translation: “If a child is trained up in the right way, even when
he is old he will not be turned away from it.”)
It’s not that hard. Let me help you…
Five Pillars of Biblical Education
1. Teach your children the Bible. Read it to them. The power of reading the
Bible will be rewarding and profound in your child’s life. Read it to them until
they graduate from high school. It will create a bond between them and God-- as
well as between them and you. Then, talk about it with them. Start out the day,
perhaps for just 10 or 15 minutes. You will be amazed at the results. If you are
not sure how to start, let me suggest you begin with John, chapter one.
2. Discover your child's unique individuality. Your child has a treasure inside
of him or her. Don’t put your children under pressure to follow your dreams--to
be an athlete, or a great musician. Discover your child’s individuality, by
observing what they are good at and interested in. This may be art or computers,
or science. Perhaps they excel in communicating or in debate (who hasn’t
discovered that side of their child?!!!!). Explain to them that God created them
uniquely and individually, with special gifts. Part of life is discovering those
gifts, developing those gifts and then distributing those gifts to serve others,
advance God’s kingdom, and provide for your child’s needs as they grow. Once
discovered, bring that gift to the forefront so they will be able to develop it
and feel a sense of esteem and uniqueness about themselves. Teach them how
important it is to not compare themselves to others, because God created them
different, so it is incredibly frustrating to try to be like someone when you
can’t be. This doesn’t mean you should excuse your children from learning a
language, playing an instrument, etc. But expose them to several things, and
through the process they will discover something they love. Once they do, teach
your child to develop that individuality.
3. Teach your children principles, not just rules. An example of a “principle”
is the law of “seedtime and harvest”. Instead of just saying “no” to everything
without an explanation, teach them that whatever they allow into their eyes or
ears is a seed. And that seed will produce a harvest. Show them the good seeds
they should be planting in their heart and the positive results they can expect
from the good seeds. And help them understand the bad seeds (certain television
shows, movies, people’s words, ideas, etc.), and the consequences of the
harvests that are sure to come. If they say that nobody likes them, teach them
to “plant the seed” of friendship toward others, and they will “reap the
harvest” of friendship from others.
4. Establish a Biblical worldview. Everything must be viewed through God’s
story, “His-story”. Secular humanism is the belief that the world revolves
around man, and man’s discoveries/accomplishments/advancements. But a Biblical
worldview is the belief that the world revolves around God, His plan, and His
purposes for mankind, and the world. In our Christian Academy, we teach children
how to view each subject, whether it is math, science, art or any other, through
God’s eyes. We learn math, to discover that God has a SOLUTION for every problem
that we will ever face. That everything in life “adds up”, if we love God and
are called according to his purpose.
5. Teach your children Christian character. Character is: what we are when no
one is looking. It is the habits that are formed through consistent application
and the reputation people have come to expect of us, through our true actions.
The goal of education is not just knowledge--it is action. Ultimately, our
character is how we act on a consistent basis—which is not something we can fake
for long. Follow this process: our thoughts determine our actions. Our actions
determine our habits. Our habits determine our character. And our character
determines our destiny. Start by teaching your children to “think right”. Right
“thinking” will eventually lead to right “living”. And that begins with an
understanding of God’s Word. This takes us back to the first pillar. Make sure
your children are taught the Word of God—at home, at church, and if you can
provide it: at the school they attend.
We want our children to live by internal convictions, not just persuasions we
convinced them of. By internalizing the truths of God’s Word, by the time they
go to college or step into their future, they will have convictions that will
serve as pillars in their lives called “character”.
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