Making Choices in a Changing Culture

As technological and philosophical changes engulf our society, Christians should constantly remind themselves that the foundation of our beliefs and values is the Bible.

You have repeatedly counseled your child to make good choices.  Furthermore, you realize that choices influence your child’s life, whether the choices relate to selecting friends, practicing good study habits, displaying the right attitude, embracing high moral values, or obeying the teaching of Scripture.  Life is comprised of making choices, and the better choices your child makes, the higher quality of life he or she will experience.

Obviously, this decision-making truth is equally as applicable to parents. You want your child to experience a good childhood, to do well in school, to honor and respect you and your family, and to mature into an outstanding Christian.  What you want for your child tomorrow requires good choices today.  Sooner than you realize, the baby in the crib is a young man or woman in college or the work force.  The final product is a reflection of the many child-rearing choices you made, some more important than others, during your child’s formative years.

Give your child experience in making choices under your watchful eye and supervision.  As you model decision-making at home, your child will most likely apply your model to future college and workforce situations.  The Christian school is a trustworthy ally in this venture, an ally that you can depend on to stand by your side, an ally who desires, like you, what is best for your child.  When the school and home use the same decision-making framework – biblical principles and truths and godly council – your child has the best of both worlds.
Our culture is changing.  Ten years ago, few people used e-mail: now it is as common as the telephone.  Global positioning satellites allow instant communication to any spot on the earth.  If something catastrophic happens in Iraq or India, we can watch it live on Fox News or CNN.  These changes alone symbolize a changing culture. 

Furthermore, modern technology has birthed a global economy.  Technology and global competition are an integral part of our culture, and they are here to stay.  Just as the Industrial Revolution transformed America from an agricultural society to an industrial society, the Technology Revolution has produced changes, we must keep in mind that there are some areas of our lives where cultural and belief changes should never be welcomed.  So, how do parents identify unwanted change, and how do they go about resisting it?  Quite frankly, technology presents a lesser threat to Christian values than society’s changing belief and value system, namely, the philosophies built upon human reasoning.  Change rooted in new age type philosophies tempts the Christian family to embrace a worldly view of life.  Christian  parents must identify the cultural changes which conflict with Scripture – and oppose such changes in the church, in the home and in the school. 

When Christ is the focus of our lives, He helps us respond to life’s issues.  He is the very essence of our faith.  Apart from Him, everything loses meaning.  The Bible says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy (the way life is viewed) and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”  (Colossians 2:8)  Any teaching that credits humanity with the solution to life’s problems or claims to be the source from which all knowledge originates violates Scripture.  Thus, everything boils down to choices, choices that honor God or honor man.

Change is  a part of life.  Change can be good or bad; it can help or hurt.  The Christian school is very much aware of the danger of man-made traditions and philosophies as well as adverse influence they have upon learning.  Wrong thinking affects how your child studies science, math, language and history.  Even more devastating, wrong teaching influences your child’s value and belief system. 

ApplicationRemember the day when you decided to enroll your child in a Christian school?  Remember how exciting it was to have your child attend school where the bible was taught and Jesus Christ was exalted as the Son of God?  Remember how appreciative you were of your child’s Christian teachers?  Time erases the freshness and vitality of yesterday’s choices.  A conviction can quickly become a preference, and a preference can gradually become a convenience.  Eventually, if allowed, a convenience leads to indifference, and indifference leads to wrong choices.

Conclusion
Unless you remain committed to the biblical truths of yesterday’s choices, you can lose your commitment to Christian education.  And, a lost commitment leads to indifference to what was once a firmly held conviction.  Furthermore, indifference fails to think about the consequences of wrong choices.  Choices that leave the Bible and Christian principles out of the decision-making process never honor God.

Dr. Charles Walker is the executive director of the American Association of Christian Schools.  He also serves as the executive director of the Tennessee Association of Christian Schools