Thursday, December 9, 2010

Keeping Our Focus When Teaching Our Children

What are you teaching your children?  I mean, what are you really teaching them?  This has been on my heart a lot lately.  You may remember this post about my full to overflowing life and schedule right now.  There are many subjects to teach, many things the state wants our children to know, many things maybe our families want them to know.  Depending on our husbands' focus, there may be many added things they want our children to learn.  But what is it all for?  What is the math, English, spelling, science, history, and on and on forWhy are we teaching our children?  There are many types of homeschoolers with many different reasons for homeschooling these days, but if you are like me, you have a strong conviction that as parent to your children, it is your job to teach your children due to verses like these found in the Holy Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 4:10  Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
  
Deuteronomy 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 

Deuteronomy 11:19  And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 

If you look in the Bible, you will not find the words "school", not even "education".  You will not find instruction for how to educate our children so they can get ahead and have a successful career, so they can be the best spellers and know all their multiplication facts.  So why are we doing it?  What is the ultimate end?  What are our days focused on?  Do we do 10 minutes of Bible and then leave God out of the rest of it?  Or do we say Daughter, God made these animals.  Son, God made numbers.  Children, God has orchestrated all of history.  His hand has been it since the beginning of time...?

Are we so busy trying to meet requirements and the expectations of others that we have forgotten the whole point?

As for myself, I am guilty, I am guilty, I am guilty.  There are many pressures on homeschoolers.  Many expectations to measure up to.  I have some relatives that want to sit down with our children and quiz them about how much they know every time they come over.  But I need to take on the attitude of Who cares?  I am not doing this for them.  These are our blessings from God, these children in our care.  I will teach them about Him.

We may want our children to be "successful".  But why?  As the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever."  Is that our focus when we're teaching our children?  I have forgotten.  In my busyness and striving to get things done I have forgotten the focus.

Let us not forget.
Mom and Daughter Reading


Buy at AllPosters.com


This post is being linked to the Domestically Divine link up at Far Above Rubies.

Thanks for stopping by,

7 comments:

  1. Amen! I was just talking to my husband about this! I see my oldest is developing some things that need to be re-directed...too busy with "work"...not pleasing the Lord! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think God has used you to confirm what He is working in my heart for sometime. I have a son, my only son, who has a learning problem. I am always comparing him to his counterparts and trying my best to *get him on level*. This has left me totally frustrated and him not enjoying learning so much. God has led me to read books written by Robin Sampson and my view on "educating" my son is definitely changing. Education is more Greek where training is Hebrew. My son has a sweet tender heart for the LORD and I have been shoveling "the worlds facts" down his throat for years..with little progress, I might add. Like I said my focus is changing...I want him to learn, love and lean on the Word of God and the God of the Word. This does not let me off the hook for training my son to work in this world, but I do not want him to be of this world. But the way and means of accomplishing this task is moving away from the world's way to God's way. Talk about peace. Anyway, your article was so perfectly timed and extremely encouraging. Thank you for posting. God Bless.
    Sharon Beale

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great, Kim. I would recommend a teaching series on this subject by R.C. Sproul Jr. called "Training Our Children". I have not yet listened to the whole thing, but it has been very helpful and eye-opening so far on this subject. You can get it on the website www.ligonier.org I believe.

    God bless~Mrs. Q

    ReplyDelete
  4. great post! Yes indeed we need to give some form of education so that our young one can provide for their family (ie working at home or outside home) but eternal things are what matter, and who care about calculus LOL

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you... I will check this out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mrs. Q. I love this post.

    Thank you so much for linking up. I hope many pass by and are blessed by your thoughts.

    What a beautiful reminder not to forget that in all things we are to glorify God.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting Blessed Homemaking!

I love to hear from you. I may not always be able to reply right away, but I read every comment you leave.
~God bless you~