For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? ~Matthew 16:26
As homeschooling parents, we naturally want the best education and opportunities for our children and tend to get quite stressed out if we think we are depriving them in some academic area. In fact, we tend to place a lot of importance on a well-rounded course of academics and electives with the proper number of hours and credits particularly when our children are in high school. A serious problem can arise, however, if we compartmentalize our children’s education. By this I mean we take care of the academics at home and leave the spiritual education to the Sunday school class, youth group, and church services. As Christian parents, our first and foremost duty to our children is to teach them the inspired Word of God and help them to build a faith in Him and grow in it day by day. Outsourcing it to churches and other people abdicates our God-given responsibility and severely shortchanges our children’s spiritual development.
Ephesians 6:4 particularly instructs fathers to bring up their children in the “training and admonition of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 6:6,7 instructs parents, “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” If our children graduate at the head of their class, win countless awards and scholarships, go on to have a successful career, and make a name for themselves in the world but fail to know God and be a faithful child of His, have we really succeeded? Heaven is the goal – keep it always in sight and work toward it diligently!
Our children are a tremendous gift from God; let us take full advantage of the opportunity and responsibility He has placed in our hands to teach our children the Bible in our homes every day.
But I should say, that the child was getting a better and simpler, and more natural education stopping at home and helping her mother, and learning to read a chapter from the New Testament every night by her side, than from all the schooling under the sun.
~North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell)