Teach Your Children Well
Moment of Manna
Leo Pete

A dog had followed his owner to school. His owner was a fourth grader at a public elementary school. However, when the bell rang, the dog sidled inside the building and made it all the way to the child’s classroom before a teacher noticed and shoo’ed him outside, closing the door behind him. The dog sat down, whimpered and stared at the closed doors. Then God appeared beside the dog, patted his head, and said, “Don’t feel bad fella…They won’t let ME in either.”
When I started school as a student, moral values were taught in the classroom. Schools are a mirror of community life. Moral values were important to community life, so they were a part of the curriculum. When I grew up and began to teach school, the schools had become value-neutral. They no longer taught moral values, but didn’t teach against them either. It was believed that it was a parent’s responsibility to teach a child moral values. When I left teaching after 32 years, it was felt by the schools that parents were no longer doing their job. They weren’t teaching their children proper moral values, so the schools took over that job. The schools decided what was a positive value. The schools decided what was moral and began teaching it to the children. And now we’ve reached the point like the Bible says, where in the last days, evil will be called good, and good will be called evil. Isaiah 5:20-21 says, “ Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” See how this differs from the Scripture that Elizabeth read to us earlier, from 2 Timothy 3:15-17 “and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Ahh, the importance and the rewards of teaching Biblical principles.
We live in Egypt and Egypt controls the schools. The schools mirror the life of Egypt, which is at odds with the Bible. We have our children for about two hours a day. Egypt has them for six to eight hours. As parents we do the best we can to teach them Biblical values, but we can’t do it alone. That’s where the
community church comes in. The local church has the responsibility to supplement what the parents teach, to support and encourage the parents in what they are trying to do. That’s why the local church has children’s programs and teen groups run by dedicated and devoted adults, who serve as role models for our children. The children and teens need to see other adults, other than their parents, who believe as they do, and can show our children that they are not alone. We have a phenomenal group of teachers here at Pathway, who are helping to shape and mold our children. They don’t do it for the money. They do it out of love and obedience to God’s call on them. They support us, and we need to support them. We need to see to it that our children get here to take advantage of these programs. Sure, it’s a bit inconvenient at times, but I’ll bet that Jesus felt that some of what He went through on that long weekend 2000 years ago was a bit inconvenient, too. But He did it.
It’s time we realize that Christianity is not a spectator sport. It requires active participation. Some people are doing all they can possibly do. Am I saying you have to do more? No! I’m saying that more people have to get involved. Lead a Bible study…or at least attend one. Teach a Sunday School class…or at least see that your children get here. Join the worship team…or at least participate in the worship service. Become a missionary…or at least support one. Let our children and teens see the importance of commitment by actively participating in the programs here. It’s time to say, “Thank you, pastor, thank you board, thank you teachers and nursery workers and youth leaders, thank you worship team and media specialists, thank you missionaries, thank you hospitality team, thank you for all the help you’ve given us. Now, how can we help you?”