The Virginia gubernatorial election became national news a couple of weeks ago, as the two candidates expressed sharp disagreement on the part that parents should play in the education of their children. The Republican candidate, Glenn Youngkin said, “I believe parents should be in charge of their kids’ education.” The Democrat candidate, Terry McAuliffe said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
The two were not discussing the math curriculum, or English, or Science. They were talking about transgendered students, and what voice parents should have in what books are available to children in the school. Note: Terry McAuliffe recently vetoed a bill that would have assured that parents would be notified when their child was assigned sexually explicit material by a teacher.
The issue recently was driven home to me as I was informed of a local school that had assigned English students to read an article titled “The Gay Option.” In the article (which I read), the author advocated for homosexuality as a normal and wholesome choice, beneficial to the individual and to society. The article was notable in that it sought to debunk the idea that homosexuals had no choice in the expression of their sexuality. That the proper approach to convert others to their thinking was to present the practice of homosexuality as equally valid as any other choice of sexual expression.
This article is not an attempt to examine the validity homosexuality as a wholesome and beneficial sexual choice. The Bible clearly says it is not. “Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due” (Romans 1:27). It is interesting that as their agenda has become tolerated by the majority, the rhetoric used by many practicing homosexuality is changing from determinism to choice.
The more germane question is this: Who does God hold primarily responsible in teaching our children moral ethics? The answer again is clear. It is not government schools. It is not even the church. It is the parents, and more specifically, the father. Note Paul’s words, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
Parents must not abdicate their responsibility to bring their children up to be faithful Christians. It is a given that to allow the government schools to be the primary source of moral and ethical training is a mistake. Public schools have long departed from any moral philosophy that is even superficially similar to biblical teaching. If kids learn morals there, it will destroy their faith in God.
Parents should learn from the example of Joshua in his final exhortation to the children of Israel. “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Joshua could not dictate obedience and faithfulness to the nation he loved dearly. But, he could control the thinking of his own family. He knew the responsibility God had given him, and he was determined to fulfill God’s desires, no matter the cost.
Parents, wake up! God holds you accountable for molding the moral and spiritual ethics of your own child. No excuse will be tolerated if you fail in your duty.
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