Visionary Education Part One

Every year since junior high I work toward reading through the Bible.   A few years ago I decided to search for one specific thing throughout the year.  Genesis to Revelation…I wanted to know, “What does GOD say about education?”

Sometimes when we become so familiar with something, we “miss” things.  It’s easy to skim over things with a “yeah, yeah, read that a million times…” kind of attitude.  I wanted to find out if God had much to say on this topic, since I have a growing family…and an excellent education is something I desire for my children.  If I could sit down with the Creator of the Universe and pick His brain about what a “quality education” would entail…what would He say?  I had a strong desire to know.

To Educate: To bring up, as a child; to instruct; to inform and enlighten the understanding; to instill into the mind principles of arts, science, morals, religion and behavior. To educate children well is one of the most important duties of parents and guardians.  Webster’s 1928 Dictionary

One of the misunderstandings of “education” is that it is, on average, a 12-16 year process.  Once a person has graduated from high school, or, in many cases, college, their “education” is completed.  This is what I refer to as a “culture box”.  We’re going to first jump away from that stifling idea and increase our vision to see that education is an exciting, life-long pursuit.  And one can never get to the end of all there is to know!

But what is it that we should be “knowing” in the first place?

I made a list of things that the Bible says human beings need to “know”.  The list is not, by any means, exhaustive, but it’s a start.

  • The good and right way
  • The power of God
  • The way a child should go
  • Spiritual truths
  • The correct doctrine
  • To set your hopes on God rather than the fleeting things of this world
  • The mind of Christ
  • The ways of God
  • The true faith
  • The Law
  • God’s instructions
  • Wisdom
  • Wise behavior
  • The path of life
  • The fear of the Lord
  • The Word of God
  • To revere God
  • History
  • The discipline of the Lord
  • The commandments

The knee jerk “Christian” reaction to this list is to say, “Well, that’s a great list…and yes…we all know our kids need to learn those things.  Duh.  But ALSO a lot of other things.  There’s nothing in that list about Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.  The Bible is obviously silent on those practical things.”

So let’s think about that for a minute.  What is reading and writing, first of all?  It’s communication.  Communication was given to the human race by the Creator…because we were created in His image.  He communicates.  We communicate.

He wrote the most important Book in the universe…for us to read.  So reading and writing are inherently a part of an excellent education that would reflect Who God is.  His design is that we would pass on (via communication) the truths He has communicated through His Word, His Creation, and His Son, Jesus Christ.  If our children are poor communicators, they will be poor conduits of God’s important messages to this world.

Arithmetic.  God created the order of the universe.  Everything is amazingly coordinated and calculated in macro and micro ways.  The greatest breakthroughs in mathematics were made by people like Kepler, Galileo and Newton who held a Christian world view.  “…the very possibility of applied mathematics is an expression…of the Christian belief that nature is the creation of an omnipotent God.” (R.G. Collingwood, An Essay on MetaphysicsThat’s where all knowledge starts, after all…in the Great Maker of Knowing.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.  Proverbs 9:10

It starts with fearing the Creator.  Respecting, believing, trusting and loving the Creator.  We are, after all, mere Wemmicks.  What makes us think we can know anything apart from the One who created us?  That kind of attitude is the epitome of arrogance and foolishness.  Certainly not the beginning of an excellent education.

I hope you’ll join me again as we continue to pick God’s brain (via His Word) on the topic of education!

Related posts:

Before Sending Your Child to a College, Ask these Questions by Dennis Prager
The Children Trap
The Indocrination of Our Children

Related posts:

  1. True Education
  2. Schooling? Or Education?
  3. Public Education is Propagandizing the Next Generation
About Wemmick Girl Saved by Grace

Natalie Klejwa is a child of the King, wife of 20 years to Joe, and mother to 8 children plus one in the “cooker”! She loves reading, writing, music, sewing, and educating her children in their home.

Natalie is the creator of Apple Valley Natural Soap, which gives her children an opportunity to earn money at home and expand their own entrepreneurial endeavors.

Passionately believing in the sovereignty of God and the sufficiency of Scripture for all of life, she has rejected the Wemmick culture box and prefers the ancient paths found in the Word of God. Natalie taught high school English when she was single and has been discipling women for 25 years through full time campus ministry, personal mentoring, writing, and Bible studies. More recently, she is the founder of Visionary Womanhood Gatherings in the Twin Cities area, which began almost five years ago, and she is also the administrator of the Visionary Womanhood blog and author of Visionary Womanhood Gatherings, A Family Strengthening Mentorship Tool for Women and Maidens.