I'm afraid I'll mess up my kids

This is such a common statement from parents who are afraid to educate their own children. It makes me laugh, but it also makes me weep. Let me tell you why.

This fear is based on the fear of man. It’s based on the fear that our kids may not get into the best college, or make the most money, or have the biggest house, or drive the nicest cars. It’s based on the fear that a parent can’t possibly provide their children with a proper upbringing.

How do parents think this way?

Modern parents have bought the lie that only a public school education could adequately prepare their children for the real world. It’s been said to death, but I’ll say it again: the public school is nothing like the real world. At all. Not even close.

So what is it that parents feel will mess up their kids? Is it choosing the wrong grammar curriculum? Is it the fact that they don’t remember British history? Is it hating math?

These are minor concerns, sure. And there is a simple answer for each one. But these will not mess up your kids.

mamas don't let your babies grow up to be socialists t shirt

The real danger

I’d be much more concerned about the things that really can mess up your kids. Things like bullying, introduction to drugs, sex education (and I’m not talking birds and bees), social justice lessons instead of history lessons, political bias instead of understanding the Constitution…the list goes on.

And the most important and vital danger: that everything your children learn in a public school is taught without the knowledge of God.

From day one, students are taught about the wonders of the world without the Creator who made them. They are taught ancient history beginning with cavemen instead of the first man and woman in Genesis. They are taught an entire history of the world that involved the actions of men and women of God without ever mentioning this huge influence on those men and women.

They spend seven, eight, or nine hours under the tutelage of people you don’t know, teaching a secular humanist doctrine that you don’t support, where the God that you know and serve is not welcome.

How does Deuteronomy 6:6-9 apply in this situation?

The alternative

When a parent assumes responsibility for their child’s education, the instruction can be radically different from day one. Children learn about the wonders of the world from the Creator who made them. They learn ancient history alongside the Old Testament. They read the stories of men and women throughout history who served God or rejected God and they are able to see the consequences of these choices.

Their sex education is provided by loving parents in a private setting at a time that is right, and does not include sexual perversion as the norm. They are not bullied. They can learn about the world around them under the careful guidance of their parents. They form their worldview in light of the Bible. Their peers are carefully screened by parents who believe that “Bad companions corrupt good morals,” (1 Corinthians 15:33) and “He who walks with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools will be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20)

So tell me: do you really think you’ll mess up your kids by keeping them home? Where do your priorities lie? With worldly gain or with an eternal perspective? Are you more concerned with their future salary or with their salvation?

What does it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36)