Friday, January 8, 2010
For the Sake of Your Tradition
Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
“For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’
“But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
“You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”
‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”
Matthew 15:1-9 NASB
I had the opportunity this week to listen to an intriguing podcast from Scott Brown of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches. You can download and listen here:
Prepare to have your thinking challenged with this one. I have come no where close to wrapping my mind around all of these things yet, but God is definitely working on me!
Although this podcast is not really about homeschooling, it has some correlating implications.
I have found that many people consider the public education system as a sacred cow of sorts--something that one cannot criticize, cannot judge, cannot call into question.
Advocating that Christians remove their children from the public school system makes one naive or intolerant at best. I've been called offensive, judgmental, legalistic, and uncompassionate.
Why?
Why is it not okay for the government to pay for and be in control of our health care, but it is okay for them to pay for and be in control of our children's education?
Why do we consider sending our little ones to public schools to be somehow evangelistic, when the statistics clearly show that the world is "evangelizing" our kids--not the other way around?
Don't believe me? 75-88% of evangelical teenagers "graduate from God" when they graduate from high school. They walk away from their faith by the end of their freshman year of college. Somewhere between 85-90% of Christian parents send their kids to public schools. I do not think this is coincidental.
Incidentally, why do Christians seem to be more concerned about their children's socialization than they are about their children's knowledge of God and His Holy Scriptures?
Why do we blatantly ignore the commands of Scripture to give our children a Christian education, and to not sit them at the feet of false teachers?
I think the reason is simple...
We are attached at the hip to the public school system.
It has become part of who we are, how we live our lives, and how we define our families.
It would be easier for some of us to cut off a part of our bodies than it would be to remove our children from the government schools.
We have all sorts of ways to justify it, but the fact remains--
We don't want to change...
We are comfortable where we are sitting...
We like our traditions.
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About Me
- Tiana
- I'm a Stay-at-Home, Christian, "crunchy" mama. I have been blessed with the calling to be a godly wife and mother. I am passionate about bringing up my children in the discipline and instruction of the LORD, through home education and discipleship. Helpmeet to my best friend and soulmate, Christopher since 1/29/2000, and mama to four little blessings, including a tiny, precious, newborn baby girl.
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