Q: Who will teach our children?
A: The public school. Aaaah yeah.
A: The local church. That’s a little bit better answer but it still falls short.
A: The home/parents. At one point in the past we might have said, “Yes!” But recent events and previous events/years show us that is not always the best source.
A: The church and the home together. This is probably the best answer. Not the exclusive one like it used to be. When both church and home are off the rails, that makes for a crazy train ride.
I ask that question because of something I read this morning. It struck home. Psalm 78:4-6 says this: “We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob; He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them-even the children not yet born-and they in turn will teach their own children.” (NLT)
The admonition there is that parents have been taught to teach so they can teach by passing down the lessons learned. This psalm is pretty clear that the bulk of the teaching is to be done at home, not at the public school (heaven forbid) or even the church (some of that is whacked).
But there is more! Verses 7-8 tell us why we are to teach our children! “So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Then they will not be like their ancestors-stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.” (NLT)
Methinks that somewhere along the line we missed the target. Just sayin’.
{Note: I’m not saying all public schools are off base. There are some-like my local school district-who, at this point, try hard to teach values I would consider worth learning. That’s the value of a small town school.}
