Yesterday, I spouted off about the difference between biblical Christianity and secular humanism. You may have wondered, “So, what? Does this even matter in my day-to-day home education? How does this change my homeschooling?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Our world view – our basic beliefs – should penetrate every facet of our teaching.
Lisa Metzger at A 2nd Generation of Homeschooling discussed this very issue in a Q&A on her blog just last week. Of all things, the subject was co-ops, and this was her timely response. Emphasis is her own.
Each parent instills a worldview in their children. Whether this process of instilling a worldview is purposeful or accidental on the part of the parents, a worldview is passed down to their children nonetheless.
Be careful which pair of worldview spectacles you choose to look through. Which pair of glasses do you regularly choose to look through from the pile that the world (and the devil) has to offer? Do you consider how the influences that surround you affect the way in which you see the world? If you surround yourself with sin (even in small amounts) or things that have an absence of God and His principles, then you are doing a variety of worldview-altering things.
First, you are telling yourself and others that God is boring or that His ways, commands, or instruction somehow waters down true wisdom and knowledge. Second, you are desensitizing yourself to sin by allowing God’s principles to be pushed to the backburner and the world’s principles to take presedence, which allows you to become more and more accepting of that which God hates. Lastly, your choice to engage the world in the ways that you do, pushing God into the shadows, demonstrates to your children that God is not the center of life, and that God is not interested in the “small” things that we enjoy or learn about in life. You are telling them that it is okay exclude God (which is what you are doing by allowing Him to remain absent) as long as we are doing something beneficial for acquiring “wisdom”.
You can read more of Lisa’s article here.
Cheryl says
AMEN. Beautifully said. Thanks for reminding us.