2004<\/p>\n
Thursday, March 18<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the midst of the series I’m doing on the 7 Pillars of Wisdom, today I’m interjecting this post on the principal purpose of Lifestyle Education through<\/p>\n
Discipleship.<\/p>\n
The guiding principal behind L.E.D. is not just to have a relaxed,<\/p>\n
natural-methods, lifestyle-based home education. It is not even just<\/p>\n
to have family-centered education. It’s not even just to raise kids<\/p>\n
who “love Jesus” and to shelter them from “the world”. These are all<\/p>\n
good parts of L.E.D., but none of them is the “principal thing;”<\/p>\n
although knowing, loving, and serving the Jesus of the Bible is<\/p>\n
definitely the reason for our educational goal.<\/p>\n
Proverbs 4:7 tells us “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get<\/p>\n
wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” (See also verses<\/p>\n
4-9.) L.E.D. has one main underlying goal, that is for our children to<\/p>\n
“get wisdom”. We’ve talked before about how the “Fear of the Lord is<\/p>\n
the beginning of Wisdom.” Therefore, any instruction your child<\/p>\n
receives that is not based on the Fear of the Lord, is not wisdom;<\/p>\n
which throws out the entire government\/public school system. No matter<\/p>\n
how many Christian teachers and coaches are there trying to bring a<\/p>\n
little light into a very dark place for the lost and dying that are<\/p>\n
there, government education is designed with a main underlying goal<\/p>\n
also, to indoctrinate children into their way of thinking and beliefs<\/p>\n
about life. These ways are blatantly at odds with the ways of the<\/p>\n
Bible, making this no place for a Christian child to receive his<\/p>\n
instruction; his view of life and way of thinking. But expounding on<\/p>\n
this issue isn’t the purpose of this article. The purpose of ALL<\/p>\n
education is to impart a way of thinking and view of life. By defining<\/p>\n
OUR goal, hopefully you will see how the goals of these 2 systems –<\/p>\n
government\/public ed and L.E.D. – are worlds apart.<\/p>\n
Let’s begin with a working definition of Wisdom. Wisdom is seeing life<\/p>\n
as God sees it; viewing the world, all of life, through the lens of<\/p>\n
God’s Word. That is called having a Biblical Worldview. You can see<\/p>\n
why this begins with the “fear of the Lord”. The beginning of Wisdom<\/p>\n
is knowing who God really is, (which instills an honor and reverence of<\/p>\n
Him,) and believing the Bible is His Word, and having a desire to<\/p>\n
follow His ways. The Bible, God, through His Word, speaks to all areas<\/p>\n
of our lives; and wisdom for living all of life is based on renewing<\/p>\n
our minds to His Word, developing a Biblical Worldview. In fact Joshua<\/p>\n
1:8 puts it, that by having His Word always in our mouths, and<\/p>\n
meditating on it day and night, to do all that is in it, is the way to<\/p>\n
prosperity and good success.<\/p>\n
We, as Christians, are in the world (we live on this earth, amongst<\/p>\n
those that are of “this world” only), yet we are not to be “of the<\/p>\n
world”. We are set apart to live differently than those of this world;<\/p>\n
to live a lifestyle rooted in the way of God’s Word, not following the<\/p>\n
ungodly lifestyle, ways & beliefs of this world. Romans 12:1 tells us<\/p>\n
that we are not to be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by<\/p>\n
the renewing of the mind. That is, God’s Word changing not only WHAT<\/p>\n
we think, but also HOW we think – transforming our minds, totally<\/p>\n
changing them from the way the world thinks. Having a Biblical<\/p>\n
Worldview doesn’t just mean we don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t cuss,<\/p>\n
don’t sleep around, and we do go to church on Sunday instead of<\/p>\n
sleeping in, and if we’re really on the ball, we say a prayer and read<\/p>\n
a verse every day. It means our way of thinking and viewing all of<\/p>\n
life is governed by God’s Word, rather than by the world around us.<\/p>\n
The title of Israel Wayne’s book, Homeschooling from a Biblical<\/p>\n
Worldview, really sums up our goal. Just by BEING Christians, you<\/p>\n
will not impart a Biblical Worldview to your children. Perhaps your<\/p>\n
own mind is not renewed, and you don’t even have much of a Biblical<\/p>\n
Worldview yourself, to impart to them. Everything that is around us in<\/p>\n
“the world” counters a Biblical Worldview. That is why we must<\/p>\n
purposely “not be conformed” to it, why we must purposely renew our<\/p>\n
minds by the Word of God. If your own mind has not been transformed,<\/p>\n
from the non-Christian education you received and just from living “in<\/p>\n
the world”, this goal of “Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview” may<\/p>\n
seem impossible to you. But what God has called you to do, He will<\/p>\n
equip you do to. You may have to learn right alongside your children,<\/p>\n
leading them, being only one step ahead.<\/p>\n
Having your children be at home with you, rather than “out in the<\/p>\n
world”, will not give them a Biblical Worldview. It will not give them<\/p>\n
the foundation they need to stand strong in their Christianity in an<\/p>\n
ever-growing anti-Christian society. (I hope this strong Christianity,<\/p>\n
this Wisdom, is what you want for your children.) Resorting to<\/p>\n
educating with whatever free or cheap resources you can find that cover<\/p>\n
the topic, using a hodge-podge of resources with no thought to the<\/p>\n
worldview they’re written from, will only give your child an<\/p>\n
inconsistent Worldview; a shaky, unstable foundation at best (no<\/p>\n
foundation, or a faulty non-Christian one at worst); especially if you<\/p>\n
don’t have a solid Biblical Worldview yourself to recognize and counter<\/p>\n
those views presented in those resources.<\/p>\n
Purposely educating your children from a Biblical Worldview will give<\/p>\n
them the foundation, to not only stand as Christians, but to make<\/p>\n
inroads in changing this world; to affect the lives of those around<\/p>\n
them – however large or small God makes that scope – for the Kingdom of<\/p>\n
God. This is why L.E.D. exists for YOU, and not just as a philosophy<\/p>\n
for educating our own family. Our desire, through L.E.D. (and all of<\/p>\n
Me and My House ministries), is to help disciple you to lead (disciple)<\/p>\n
your family into a Biblical Worldview, through home educating by<\/p>\n
Lifestyle methods; even as we ourselves are growing in grace and the<\/p>\n
knowledge of our Lord and Savior and His Word.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
2004 Thursday, March 18 In the midst of the series I’m doing on the 7 Pillars of Wisdom, today I’m interjecting this post on the principal purpose of Lifestyle Education through Discipleship. The guiding principal behind L.E.D. is not just to have a relaxed, natural-methods, lifestyle-based home education. It \u2026 Continue reading