The Heart of Education

Christian parents should want what God wants for their children, an education that exalts Jesus Christ in every area of life (Proverbs 3:5-6).

It has been well said that  “the heart of education is the education of the heart.”  That premise is validated in Scripture.  “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it (are) the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).  One can easily visualize the product of such an education.  The effective education of the heart will be reflected in a life that imitates Christ and a produces godly fruit.  It is a life that lives and makes choices through a biblical worldview.  The compass of this life, in every situation, guides one to a response consistent with scriptural principles.  It is a life in which the Bible should control every decision, always giving Jesus Christ the preeminence in everything one does. 

Jesus taught us that the product of any life is determined by the content of the heart (Matt. 12:34; 15:19).  Herein lays a gigantic battle.  It is spiritual warfare at its most intense level.  Satan understands well what is at stake – probably better than we do.  Therefore, he will stop at nothing and stoop to anything to derail our focus on heart education.  He engages in a take-no prisoners, no-holds barred battle for the hearts and minds of our children.  In every venue of our culture, an all out assault is waged on the mind of our young people.  Biblical values are challenged in education, home life, music, dress, and in every other area of life as well.  Christian values are under assault, this no one can deny, and the focus is on the center of the target – our young people. 

Satan’s most effective device may be to prompt us to compartmentalize the educational process.  He spreads the lie that what a person is in his or her heart does not necessarily have any effect on what he or she is publicly.  Therefore, we have the astonishing debate over whether a person’s personal life has any bearing on his or her ability to govern effectively.  We preach and teach that, for the believer, there is no difference between things sacred and things secular.  We bemoan the voices in our culture who insist that a person’s private and public lives are separate, that one can be a good public servant even with an immoral lifestyle.  Yet, many in Christian service live as though that which is necessary and important in our private and church lives is different from that which is important in our public, education, and business lives. 

The heart of education is truly the education of the heart.

Already, I hear great protests at that statement.  As a believer, you are insisting that you believe that there indeed is no difference between the sacred and the secular.  But, is it possible that our actions speak louder than these words?  The coach tells the players that athletics is good preparation for life and that respect for authority, especially the authority of the coach, is part of that preparation.  Then he or she is quick to yell at the referee, the authority in the game, over a call with which he or she disagrees.  The English teacher reminds students that language has been given to communicate God’s truth and to manifest a Christ-like attitude, yet his or her words often testify otherwise.  The math teacher uses mathematic principles to communicate the importance of honesty and integrity, but hedges on his or her own income tax return.  Parents insist that their children respect their authority in the home, respect authority at school, and assume personal responsibility  for their actions.  At the same time, those same parents speak unkindly about the principal or pastor around the dinner table, and take sick days from work for reasons other than illness.  What are we communicating?  Are we teaching by the disconnection between what we say and the way we actually live that there is a compartmentalization between things sacred and things secular?

Application

The Bible is plain.  Christian education begins at home.  In reality, every parent is a home educator.  The Christian school in which parents wisely place their children operates under delegated authority from those parents, and is an extension of the values being taught in the home.  This is why the home and Christian school work together for the same God-honoring goals.  Our greatest mission in the ministry of Christian education is to teach each person to live for Christ in his or her heart (Col. 1:28, 29).  Paul thanked God that those who received his epistle obeyed “from the heart” (Rom. 6:17).  Only heart education will produce a Christ-like life.  Only heart education will train and sharpen the child’s mind, providing him or her with the discernment to withstand Satan’s attack.  Genuine, heart obedience can be taught only from another obedient heart.  More than we communicate the content of curriculum, we reproduce what we are in our hearts.  May God find our hearts pleasing unto Him in everything we do and say.  The heart of education is truly the education of the heart.  Tend your heart carefully; your children are absorbing it a little bit each day. 

Dr. Keith Wiebe is the president of the American Association of Christian Schools and the pastor of Grace Gospel Church in Huntington, WV.