America's
traditional family values and morals are being besieged in
unimaginable proportions. Never has the Christian family faced such an onslaught of
evil strategies and influences.
Christian families
are under assault from every conceivable anti-family force imaginable. These
assaults are being unleashed with a merciless fervor. The purpose is to destroy
family values and morals.
The
assault on families is real, and the danger is more serious than most
Christians realize. Unless families awaken to what is happening in America and
become energized in the defense of biblical truth, Christian integrity, family
honor, and American patriotism, the family will continue to lose its moral influence
and political power. When good people remain silent, evil prevails; and when
evil prevails, the Christian family and society suffer the consequences.
The chief architect
of this assault is Satan. He hates God and anyone who loves Him. His intent is
to redefine and to destroy the sanctity of marriage and to negate the influence
of Christian values and morals. Scripture warns us, "Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour" (l Pet. 5:8).
The assault
against the family includes the influences spawned by the entertainment media:
music, television, and Hollywood. These influences eat like a cancer at family
values and morals. Drug use devastates lives and destroys families. Abortions
continue to increase at an alarming rate; the divorce rate is on the rise;
babies born to unwed mothers continue to increase; and crime has escalated with
an alarming rise in brutal, vicious acts. Safety and trust have become major
issues in the American culture. These are only some of the influences that ruin
homes, destroy children's lives, and break the hearts of parents.
Dual career
parents, single mothers, latchkey children, and detached teenagers also put a
strain on family relations. Over-committed, fearful, and confused families have
strayed from or forgotten God's plan for the home. Like the children of Israel,
the family is concentrating more on its place in the world instead of seeking
after God's will: "They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk
in his law; and forgat his works ..." (Ps. 78: 10-11 a).
In addition to
these influences, a majority of America's children are educated in schools
where standards of right and wrong are based on personal preferences instead of
biblical absolutes. Thus, absolute truths are rejected in secular education as
a moral guide for behavior and beliefs. Satan led a revolt in the 1960s against
Christianity in the public schools and succeeded in banning prayer and the
Bible. Now, humanism rules. Satan continuously stalks the Christian family,
convincing many that Christ's preeminence in education is irrelevant in the
twenty-first century.
The Christian home,
the training ground for teaching Christian values and morals, can counter these
assaults. From the beginning of time, God gave parents the responsibility to
train their children to love and serve Him and to love and obey their parents.
The home is where children learn how to live for God and how to honor Him and
their parents.
A final thought
to consider: America was founded by men and women who desired religious
liberty. From their dream, America grew to become the greatest nation in the
world, a nation with a moral conscience deep-rooted in the teaching of
Scripture. Unfortunately, the morals and values that once reigned in American families,
businesses, and government are vanishing.
Application
The Bible is life's
rulebook for Christian families. Parents must teach its precepts to their
children; they must practice its principles and obey its laws; they must seek
God's wisdom in knowing how to cope with life's problems. This requires
building a hedge of biblical truth around the family and depending on the Holy
Spirit for guidance. It also means that parents should live principle-driven lives,
pray for forgiveness of sin and deliverance from evil, and practice living by
faith instead of by sight.
Christian parents
should always follow God's ways, even when they do not understand His
directions (Prov. 3:5-6). This means asking the hard questions. Is God exalted
in my home? Is my child's teacher reinforcing the biblical absolutes that I
believe and teach at home? Is my child's teacher a Christian that models Christ
and Bible truths? Is my child studying from Christian textbooks that present
knowledge in the light of Scripture? The answers are enough for any devoted
Christian parent to give Christian education his support. This single choice
will help parents divert many of the assaults Satan makes upon the Christian
family.
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.
