Don't Judge Me! Discernment or Condemnation?

What is the difference between judgement and discernment in the scriptures? The Bible says don't judge your neighbor, for the same measure you judge them by, you will be judged by (Matthew 7:1-2). The Bible also says "test everything" (1 Thessalonians 5). Jesus said don't judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement (John 7:24, 1 Cor 2:15).

But there are two different contexts here. The first form, "judgement" is in the context of condemnation. If I were to judge someone, say they are in sin, and I would say "they are hopeless, they are doomed, nothing can save them." I've just sinned by condemning them by "passing judgement over them." If I were to say a person is evil, beyond repentance, again that's passing judgement. If I were to say that person deserves 20 years in prison, that is passing condemning judgement. If I were to look at a person and think less of them because of their sins, that would be condemning judgement. But there is another.

1 Corinthians 2:15 (ESV) says "The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one."

Or the NIV translates it as: "The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments."

The second context is discernment, or "testing everything."  The scriptures interchange the words "judgement", "discernment", and "evaluate."  So this can be somewhat confusing.  Many Christians seem to think that when Jesus said,"You must not judge" he was referring to all situations where anyone might point out anything about anyone.  Jesus' statement is not unqualified.  There are qualifiers, barriers around all of his statements.  We don't want to get out of control with "just love" or "just never judge."  Because the overarching moral themes of the Bible contain numerous, interwoven moral teachings that include mercy, love, truth, judgement, discernment, evaluation, growth, holiness, fairness, justice, and many other themes.  All of these teachings are interwoven into a lattice of moral precepts that are applied as a contrariety in any given real life situation.  For most of you, you already know this and if you don't you should.  

So in any given situation I may apply love to a certain extent, truth to a certain extent, grace to a certain extent, and evaluation, and exhortation, among many others.  We study the scriptures thoroughly and daily to be aware of how and when to use which precepts in which situations.

If one of my friends were struggling with pornography, I could go to him and say, "Friend, pornography is wrong, it's evil. I'm encouraging you to change your ways in that area." I've just "exhorted" him to change.  Exhortation is a spiritual gift. He has not been judged in anyway. He has been exhorted.  I've politely and humbly rebuked him in private.  I've applied some love, some mercy, some grace, some truth, matched with evaluation of his circumstance and a humble rebuke to encourage him to change.  

The world today thinks that love means accepting any behavior in anyone no matter how destructive it is to that person.  That is not the Christian way.  We don't encourage people to be in sin, or stay in sin, why?  Because sin is destructive, and sin leads to spiritual death.  It's loving to warn people of the bad paths they choose.  Would you tell a drunk to keep drinking?  Would you encourage an addict to keep using drugs?  Would you encourage a homosexual person to stay in a culture that often leads to drug use and a sexual practice that can often lead to the spread of disease?  Of course not.  It wouldn't be loving to do so.

A second example of discernment matches with "exposing evil" (Ephesians 5:11). If someone indicates that an institution is in sin, or that homosexuality is sinful, or that pre-marital sex is sinful, or that pornography in general is sinful, or that drug abuse is evil, or human trafficking is wrong, this person has not "judged" anything in the context of condemnation.  But if they were to condemn sin as evil, they would be free to do so.  But if they were to condemn the person as evil, that is sinful judgement.  When someone calls out an institution practicing wickedness, or a group, or a culture, or a civilizations, they are not sinning.  They are engaging in discernment (Hebrews 5:14), exhortation (2 Tim 4:2), and a prophetic role of calling out the sin in the world. The prophetic gift is a spiritual gift (1 Cor 12:10). 

Someone might say that you are only allowed to rebuke someone in person.  That is true that the standard model for rebuking a fellow believer is in the context of first meeting them in person.  But it also says if they refuse the rebuke you are to come back with several others.  If the person still refused the rebuke you are to make the sin known to the entire church congregation.  Once again we need to look at context, and qualifiers surrounding a statement.  

For further reference Matthew 18:15-17 says "“If your brother or sister[b] sins,[c] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[d] 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

But we aren't finished here.  Matthew 18:15-17 is not the only teaching we have on dealing with "exposing evil" and "revealing sin" and rebuking believers and non-believers.  There are numerous other examples in the scriptures.  Think of the confrontation between the apostle Paul and the apostle Peter at Antioch.  

Galatians 2:11-14 says "But when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him in public, because he was clearly wrong. 12 Before some men who had been sent by James arrived there, Peter had been eating with the Gentile believers. But after these men arrived, he drew back and would not eat with the Gentiles, because he was afraid of those who were in favor of circumcising them. 13 The other Jewish believers also started acting like cowards along with Peter; and even Barnabas was swept along by their cowardly action. 14 When I saw that they were not walking a straight path in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you have been living like a Gentile, not like a Jew. How, then, can you try to force Gentiles to live like Jews?”

So we have a context for rebuking fellow leaders, or a fellow leader in public, in person.  There is no indication in Galatians that Paul made a mistake by confronting Peter in person for his conduct toward the Gentile (non-jewish) believers.  We could go even further at look at John the Baptist and his calls in the wild to repentance.  We could look at the Old Testament prophets like Jeremiah, Elijah, and others, but I think that will suffice for now.

Believers need to be careful about this. Don't toss around the "judgement" stuff unless you've fully studied it's meaning in the scriptures. Don't jump the fence when someone throws out the "don't judge me card." Most of the time you aren't judging them, and they just need to repent.  

Part of your job as a Christian is to lovingly and humbly rebuke someone.  You must remember to do so politely.  Be cautious of how it's done.  But it's important to do so.  Christian love is quite different from the ideas the world has about love.  Christian love is not unqualified love.  Christian loves means warning people who are in sin.  Isn't it loving for a parent to discipline a child when they misbehave?  Absolutely that is loving.  Love includes many boundaries.  Part of Christian love is to rebuke those who are in sin.

The correct response to a gentle rebuke, is to be broken or disturbed by it. Then one laments (grieves, feels awful about it), and expresses a contrite heart (a heart willing to change). Then the person repents (changes their actions and beliefs on the issue), and thanks the individual for the rebuke. The incorrect response to a rebuke is to become defensive, angry, and lash out at the person trying to do the correcting. The incorrect response is to lash out and say "don't judge me." Titus 2:15, 1 Timothy 5:20, Galatians 6:1, James 5:20, Matthew 18:15-17, Proverb 27:6, Rev 3:19

We are fully free, and in fact commanded as believers to discern everything, evaluate everything, and expose evil in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Judgement is the form of condemnation, or in looking down on someone to build yourself up is sinful and wrong.  We must never do that.  We must never stand back and judge others, mock them, laugh at them, or consider them damned.  We must never think ourselves better than a non-believer or a Christian struggling in sin.  We are here for one reason, in the family of Christ: Jesus saved us, transformed us, and gave us the ability to begin living a different life from the one we used to live.  Given that, we must certainly discern, evaluate, and rebuke when necessary.  We must expose evil, encourage good stewardship, encourage holy living, and encourage repentance in all areas of life. We must stand against the sin in our own lives, and encourage others to defeat the sin in their lives, in the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Your Spiritual Before & After Picture

We often see pictures of "before" and "after" for weight loss programs.  Yet we Christians are privy to the most powerful and comprehensive transformation known: spiritual rebirth.  I encourage you, sift through your photos.  Find pictures of yourself before and after you encountered Christ.  Upload them to social media, and show your fellows that being a Christian isn't about being a self-righteous snob.  

It's about Jesus Christ changing a real life from something pointless to something special.  People talk so much about how the followers of Christ fail to live up to the standard of Christ.  Let's show people that the transformation is real.  I don't suddenly become perfect, but I do begin down a long, lifelong journey of growth and change as a follower of Christ.  

My first thought is of self-conscious recoil.  But how I looked before is so sad!  People will judge me!  My reputation may be adversely affected.  Aren't Christians suppose to put out a front of being really religious and good?  Well, not really.  If you act all perfect all the time, then people outside the church think maybe they aren't good enough or it's just not for them.  But if you show them that you used to be just as lost and troubled, then they know it's for them too.  

Let me suggest that when I recoil, it's out of pride.  I enjoy a good reputation.  I'm an employee and intern candidate of the Salvation Army.  I'm a college graduate.  I'm known around the area as a decent friendly person.  What if they all knew that only three years ago I had jet black long hair, and I spent my days and nights drinking cough medicine, beer, smoking dope, and causing trouble?  Wouldn't they think less of me?  Some might, don't get me wrong.  But our testimony is vital.

I have not been saved by Justin's ingenuity or Justin's ability to cobble together a systemic transformation.  I've been saved because I was the most despicable worthless man boy doped punk on the face of the Earth, and God saw fit to deliver me from that.  It's all due to his Spirit and his leading.  I did the foot work of course, I didn't just sit there.  I embraced the recovery process, church, bible studies, step groups, and all of that.  I prayed vigorously.  I still do.  But it was the power of God working a mighty orchestra of hope and change in my life.  That's what did it. 

Our mere physical appearance still is only a poor shadow of the change Christ has done.  But most definitely in my case, it is extremely noticeable by appearance alone.  And it probably should be.  But imagine if they could see the spiritual side of it!  The bumps, the bruises, the blood stains, and the scars.  I was talking with a young man at Celebrate Recovery the other day, and we were talking about the transition from being a member of the church to really engaging in intentional ministry.  It's quite a whirlwind of difference.  It's like stepping from sunny suburbia into a brutal, muddy, storming trench of spiritual warfare.  It's like stepping from an airy path to trudging through shin high sludge.  The enemy is fine with spiritual infants who never do more than sit in a pue.  They are fine right where they are.  But the enemy has to stop the maturing warrior Christians who are taking a stand for the truth. And the more intentional and provocative you are in sharing your faith regularly, and really engaging in ministry to the lost, the more intense come the spiritual assaults.  If only we could see the spiritual muscles, the spiritual scars, and the spiritual lightsaber duels, sword fights, struggles, defeats, and triumphs.  In spite of all of it though, we fight on.

Yet even despite the invisible nature of our spiritual war, our physical appearance is a parallel, a mirror of who we are in Christ.  Think about it, can't you see it in the eyes of a godly man?  Can't you feel it in her presence?  Can't you sense it in their being?  It can be seen.  The question is: Are willing to share who we used to be, along side who we are now?  Because then it becomes much more clear, that it wasn't me, it was Christ.  He delivered me from foolishness.

Therefore the question is much more basic than we might think.  It comes down to this: Are you willing to be a fool for Christ?  Are you willing to look stupid for the sake of his mission?  Are you willing to be embarrassed and awkward for his sake?  

Think of what Paul said,"Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.¹¹ I have made a fool of myself." 2 Cor 12:7b-11a NIV

Listen to the Apostle Paul, one of the greatest authors in history.  God spoke through him in the books of the New Testament.  He didn't say "hide your shameful past."  He said "boast of your infinite weakness!"  He even said, "I take delight in them."  And he finally says,"I have made a fool of myself."  Have you made a fool of yourself for Christ yet?  Well, you better get on that.  God bless you. 

 

What does it mean to be a Man: Man-boy Syndrome & a life of Greatness

Creative commons image via Google Images

Creative commons image via Google Images

What is manhood?  What does it mean to be a man?  Is it power?  Is it strength?  Is it having the biggest truck?  Or the biggest house?  Or the best kept lawn?  

Is it the family and white picket fence?  Is it finding true love in a wife?  Is it raising children, and caring for grandchildren, and growing old together?  Is it leaving a legacy of family?

Is it sexual prowess?  Is it the "bro lifestyle" at the bars?  Is it going from woman to woman, conquest to conquest?  Is it found in experimenting with smoke and pipe?  Or perhaps in a hedonistic search for pleasure?

Is it gathering wealth and possessions?  Could it be attaining to total power?  Is it creating brilliant works of art?  Or might it be immortalizing oneself in writing books and poetry? 

Is it in finding oneself?  Or perhaps might it be discovering the truth that works for you?  Or as some have said, to find your own meaning in the world?

Manhood is a very misunderstood topic today.  One could say that western man has in many ways lost touch with what it means to be a man.  But there are always the hold outs, the exceptions to the rule.  They are around, holding their heads high, living lives of meaning and dignity.  They are out there.  I aspire to be one of them.  I aspire to be a man of strength, courage, and conscience.  

What kind of man are you?  And if you're a woman, what kind of man would you want to lead your home?  What kind of man would you want as your partner in the business of life?  

Manhood can be very confusing.  If one watches television and culture, one might have some very confusing ideas about what being a man is.  If you watch commercials and sitcoms, you might think that men are supposed to be dumb, somewhat out of control, and in need of guidance from his wife who seems to commonly take the superior role in the relationship.  That isn't manhood though.  That's a fantasy world and it isn't real. 

Some say there is a war on men.  I don't know, maybe there is.  Maybe media means to disarm men, to push a lot of guilt their way for their oppressiveness in the past.  But I suppose I don't adhere to that.  I won't be suppressed for the crimes of others.  I just won't.  Society, culture, people groups, and families in general need strong men, strong leadership in men, and overall just good men are needed.  

Young men are not especially any of these categories.  A lot of them are being told they're suppose to be more feminine.  They are being told nothing is ever their fault.  They are being told they are victims.  They are being told they need to explore homosexual relationships.  They are told they are suppose to try to screw everything that moves.  What?  It's true.  If you haven't noticed this then you've been living in a box.  Young men are for the most part, predators.  It's creepy.  Young men are being told they are the product of time + matter + chance.  They are being told that they are just pond scum, and do whatever feels right.  As they say "follow your heart."  My heart got me into a lot of trouble, so today I follow the leading of my God.  But men are hungry for something else.  They are hungry for honor, dignity, truth, and a great cause to stand for. 

But today?  My goodness.  Young guys today make me want to puke actually.  Many of them do, truly.  Especially the guys who dress up like gangsters.  Or even worse, the bar hopping bro guys.  They are just insufferable.  These are the guys who have read "The Dao of the Badass" five hundred times, and make a practice of manipulating and seducing bar girls.  They usually end up paying a lot of child support and drinking heavily.  There's no meaning or happiness in that pursuit, believe me, it's empty.  And child support is expensive.  Welfare queens.  It's ridiculous. 

Do you know what they call that?  In Psychology it's considering something called "King Baby Syndrome."  King baby syndrome is characterized by selfishness, rejection of criticism, complaining, refusal to accept circumstances, refusal to mature, and believing that rules of life don't apply to them.  The king baby is always looking for the next chance to laugh about something, or have fun no matter what.  When people get in the way, they call them a drag and move on to the next.  The king baby says things like "I shouldn't have to work, because then I'm just enslaved to my corporate masters."  They refuse to face the difficulties of life, and refuse to accept difficult situations.  Instead they tend to run from such issues, and often have chemical dependency issues and/or alcoholism problems.  So let me ask you: Are you a king baby?  If so, maybe it's time to grow up?  You can be king of the pen at your mommy's house, or you could allow yourself to mature into a man?  Your choice.

Let me ask you, have you noticed a certain trend?  I've noticed this quite regularly.  It seems to be the new rule, not the exception.  Guys in their twenties, jobless pot heads playing videogames all the time, sitting in the passenger side while their girlfriend drives them around.  Have you noticed this?  I've noticed it.  I think they call that man boy syndrome.  Girls don't like that.  They just have nowhere else to turn.  Public schools and fatherless homes turn out these dope smoking man-boys by the millions.  

Now that we understand the problem in somewhat blunt terms (your welcome) we can look at a hope for the future.  Let's look at recovering and redeeming manhood.  Five areas.

1. Men need to understand who they and why they are. What is my roll as a man?  In other words, what does it look like to be a man?  

The young man rolls off the assembly line, gets plugged into the matrix, and eventually asks himself: What am I suppose to do?  Usually there should be a strong man in the household to sit down and explain it to this young man.  Unfortunately that's not always the case.  

Let's settle it right now.  Your primary purpose in life is not to be entertained, it's to be a man of honor and dignity, upholding a righteous cause.  You sir are not a product of the slime, and you don't get to choose buffet style what life does and doesn't mean.  You are a man, created in the image of almighty God himself, endowed with a conscience that you should use.  You are afforded days and nights on this Earth, bright stars above, and dirt below to do your best to be a mighty man of God.  

If you want to believe whatever you want to believe, then life has no meaning.  And you can go back to being a loser man boy destined for welfare.  Maybe you can apply for disability so you can sit in your mom's bedroom for the rest of your life and play WoW and COD.  But if you want to be a real man of greatness, you must understand that what you do matters, how you live matters, there is a God, he made you, he's in charge, and your life will echo throughout eternity.  There are fundamental truths of life that do not change.  And your purpose is to stand for what's right, care for your family, raise your children, bring in the bread and meat, and sacrifice for your wife and your family when need be.  

If you can stop running from your God and turn and embrace him, he can make you a man of greatness.  He can make you the man you were always suppose to be.  But you've gotta rise above the man boy syndrome. It can be done.  God is real, and he's got the power.  Let's move on.

2.  Men want boundaries and discipline.  Men want a code.  What is my code?  How should I live?

What code do I live by?  What are the rules and disciplines surrounding my life?  As much as it seems so great to just indulge in everything, we've seen how destructive that is.  It's spawned a lot of men addicted to pornography, men addicted to drugs, men addicted to sex, and men addicted to the party life.  Every young man quietly craves for guidelines.  Dad, show me where the boundaries are!

The boundaries are outlined in this book, and if you can handle not running to your mommy and crying about it, I'll tell you the title: It's called the Bible.  The Bible is your basic instruction manual.  Stop whining.  Stop dishing out your panzy liberal "objections" to the Bible.  Your objections stink.  The Bible is real.  Your code is in there.  Your chivalrous code of honor and truth is right in there.  It's all there.  

Do good, champion the causes of the oppressed.  Stand for truth.  Stand up against those who threaten freedom and liberty.  Honor your wife.  Care for your family.  Don't lie, don't steal, and don't cheat.  It's all in there.  And it makes sense.  It really makes sense.  And if you can't handle that, there's the door.  Go apply for disability because you are terminally man-boy.  But if you can handle it, then you've found a manual, a guide, a power, a greatness, and a tool to handle every situation life can throw at you.  You've started the journey of becoming a real man.  

3. Men need an allegiance.  What is my cause to champion?

Causes have been stripped from men.  I'm not sure how or why, but it has happened.  I need a mission in life.  And we can see that can't we?  Look at the movies we men love.  We love Star Wars, Luke Skywalker, the great battle against the evil empire.  We love war movies, because of the great and glorious battles.  We love super heroes, because we want to be the heroes of our story.  Think of the videogames we play.  We play Diablo, Starcraft, Call of Duty, Half-Life, World of Warcraft, come to think of it every single computer or videogame I ever played was about a hero fighting in a desperate cause against the forces of evil.  Think of Master Chief and his battles against the covenant.  Or Metal Gear Solid.  Or Fallout 3.  Or Morrowind.  Oblivion.  Rise of Nations. The list could go on and on.  We all have that urge within us, to fight on the side of the righteous, in the hopeless cause, in defense of the weak and trodden on.

What is your cause?  My cause you might say is that of the paladin.  I'm a righteous warrior of light.  I'm the white knight of God, washed and renewed in the victory of Jesus Christ.  My God is real, powerful, and mighty.  He is real.  He is all knowing.  He is the architect of all life.  And he means for me to fight in his army on light on Earth, the body of Christ.  

I have an incredible cause to champion, in a dark world, I am honored with the gift of carrying the light.  I wake up every morning and put on my spiritual armor, and make war on the darkness.  I share the truth boldly.  This is the ultimate cause.  And every man needs a cause to champion.  Otherwise he's just a selfish, snotty little brat who wants everything his way.  We can all think of that guy, can't we?  Don't be that guy!  

Submit yourself before the real God of the universe, join his army of light and truth, and begin the exhausting, arduous journey to fulfill your destiny.  The journey is long and hard, taking us through the darkest valleys, and highest mountains, but if we are brave and tap into the power God gives us in his Spirit, we will make it to the promised land.  Let's continue.

4. Men need an outlet for exploration and adventure.  What is my adventure?

In connection to a righteous cause, is a need for exploration and adventure.  Men suffer greatly in the cubicle.  I know I do.  I'd almost rather be dead then have to come back to a cubicle every day.  It's insufferable.  Men need adventure.  We need outdoors.  We excursions.  We need men's outings.  What is your adventure?  Maybe it's something as simple as camping, hiking, or rock climbing.  Maybe it's going on mission trips.  Maybe it's joining a gun club or a state militia.  I don't know, get creative.  It could be joining a service organization like Lion's Club.  It could be protesting, it could be skydiving, it could be fishing, it could be many things.  But we need our adventures.  It's kind of like Fight Club, we need our adrenaline.  

Men are born trail blazers and heroes.  Men are born for action and excitement.  That isn't a bad thing.  Sometimes it's just channeled wrong.  But if we search, there are outlets for adventure, usually along the same lines as our cause/calling.  

5. Men need a sense of glory and a striving toward greatness.  What is my glory and what is my greatness?

This desire for honor, glory, and greatness is at the core of the male heart.  It is God given and good.  It's the part of me that wants to stand shoulder to shoulder with patriots to retake America.  It's the part of me that craves a great awakening.  It's the part of me that despairs at the state of men today.  It's the part of me that is caught fire with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is the instinct within me that is the most righteous and true.  It's that part of me that hungers and thirst for righteousness, truth, and the victory of good over evil.  This is the very core of a man.  

No matter how much sex, drugs, selfishness, materialism, and gluttony is dumped into the masculine heart it cannot extinguish this God given splinter of eternity that cries out for justice, truth, and the righteous perfection of God himself.  We can't escape it.  There is always the part of us that calls out in the deep for truth, for glory, for greatness, and for something greater than ourselves.  We need that greater cause that we can lay down our lives in the service of.  

That cause is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is the truth of life itself.  The male character finds it's perfection of greatness and glory in the tireless service to the noble cause of the Christian faith.  We are called to radical action to see the world saved from the very greatest threat of all: death itself.  We are called to a noble cause indeed.  We are called to gather the lost into the army of God, to stand on the battle lines in the army of God fighting the forces of hell.  We are called to make spiritual war on the forces of darkness.  We are called to stand for the truth in a world full of lies.  

Are you willing to become a man of greatness?  Are you willing to step up, and become a real man, the man you're suppose to be?  This is it.  This is our cause.  This is our victory over consumerism and meaninglessness.  

The Christian faith is the truth about all of life.  God is a real God.  We are called to defend the truth, and stand against the darkness.  But the walls are vacant.  The men are too busy trapped in addictions and obsession with self satisfaction.  Men are too busy stalking women, collecting trinkets, and aspiring to management positions.  Come out of the bars, come out of your mother's basement, and become the man you were born to be!  Become a man of greatness.  

God turned me from the most pathetic, addicted man-boy, into a man serving in his army, standing for truth, fighting pitch, desperate spiritual battles; God made me the warrior of truth I had always hoped to be, yet couldn't quite grasp.  God made a real man out of me.  And I want you to be a real man too.  Turn from man-boy syndrome, and begin your journey to masculinity.  Begin your journey at the cross, receive Jesus Christ and his Spirit, don your spiritual armor, and get ready for a war.  Men of honor are needed on the battlelines.  It's time to take your place on the frontlines.  The greatest cause in the history of man awaits you, sign on now, before the time is too late.  

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Related Posts:

1. Be a Man
2. Am I called to Ministry? How can I know?
3. Mighty Men, Men of Valor, Men of Honor, Men of Renown
4. What is the Gospel?
5. Does man need God in Western Civilization: Young People are Hungry for the Truth
6. Real Christianity: Clothing, Buildings, Money, & Extravagance
7. The Stairway to Heaven
8. The Modern Man
9. Imagine a Perfect Universe: Genesis, Revelation
10. Life Formula for the Growing Christian

Thoughts on Public Schooling: Should Christians homeschool their children?

“The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

Many an average American boy or girl will be raised up in the school rooms of public education.  I would like to share some thoughts from great minds on education itself, public education, and wisdom.  I'd also like to share my personal experiences in the public education system.  Then I'll transition into possible solutions to these issues, cross referenced with personal need and the good of society at large.

I was brought up in a fairly average American home.  My mother was a nurse, and my dad was a teacher for a local technical college.  I was raised just beyond the suburbs, but close enough to the suburbs to bike around with my friends on sunny summer days.  Never the less, autumn would always come and eventually we would hear the familiar squealing of the breaks of the public school bus coming to pick us up for a fresh round of indoctrination sessions.  

It should be noted that the school district which I attended K-12 is considered one of the best in the United States.  No joke.  I recall knowing kids who had wealthy parents that rented a house for their kids in the area, just so they could go to the D.C.E. school district.  I recall the drunken house parties at the rental house too.  At the same time the Wausau, Wisconsin area is a reasonably conservative Christian area.  That was generally reflected in the teachers.  I wouldn't say I received an overly liberal blast of public education.  But there are many who do.  

Elementary school was in general quite a wonderful experience.  There were some issues, but overall it was quite excellent.  I was lucky though.  The Riverside elementary school was a wonderful place to be at K-6th.  Apparently other elementary schools in the area were much different.  

The real nightmare I think comes for most kids in the 7th grade through 12th grade experience.  I recall how the religious students were persecuted.  There was a dual sort of persecution for those types.  First they were targeted by teachers and the governing body of the institution.  I don't think they did that out of cruelty.  They do it because they are afraid of being sued by the Freedom from Religion Foundation or the ACLU.  These organizations lose almost all of their court battles, but by always being there to sue, sue, sue, it forces public teachers and officials into a state of fear.

They don't want a controversy, they don't want a legal battle, they don't their school on the news.  So the easiest way to keep the status quo is to quietly persecute the Christian students who want to practice their beliefs within the walls of the school.  Christian students shouldn't submit to such persecutions, but should instead contact organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom and Liberty Institute for free legal support.  

Possibly worse is the culture of bullying and social climbing within the school population.  I wasn't even religious really during those years, but I always made sure I never mentioned Jesus or Christian faith.  The students who did were brutally mocked, often physically bullied, and forced to the "loser table" at lunch.  I'm sure cultures at school can vary from public school district to public school district, but in my experience it was quite brutal.  There were the popular kids with the nice clothes, and then there were the rest.

"It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate  plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty." -Albert Einstein

Dr. Einstein was right when he considered how public schools dispel education.  As many of you know, I'm a writer.  I even dare to say a good, and creative writer of fair skill.  I hated English in high school.  I hated it in junior high.  I hated it in elementary school.  In fact I hated history too, which I love now.  I hated civics, which I enjoy studying now too.  I hated all the subjects.  Why?  Because the majority of the time, I was being taught by an old, gruff tenured teacher, burnt out, who insighted me toward hatred of the topic.  Or in English class I was being forced to read the most boring, uninspiring gluck I could imagine, like "Of Mice and Men" and "Romeo and Juliet."  Now these are certainly good works, but of absolutely no interest to a teenager.  

I realized in later reflection that public school had systematically triggered intense malaise and hatred in me toward every single topic imaginable.  Thank God I fought through those feelings and began to induce myself toward private study which, at my own pace, and studying areas of my own interest, I found new love for subjects that had been crucified before my eyes by aged tenured professors teaching out of boring text books.  I'm sorry, but that was my experience.  I can't put it any more lightly than that.  One of the best public schools in the country did that for me.  It destroyed a sacred interest within me, going in I had, and by the end I had lost.  Einstein was right, the school destroys the most sacred and holy curiosity of inquiry. 

What about morality?  Public schools are not allowed to teach any morals, otherwise they'll be sued by FFRF or ACLU.  What comes about in that vacuum?  Moral anarchy.  I saw it in the public schools.  It is ugly.  The vacuum of moral values breeded a culture of depravity, sex, drugs, alcohol, bullying, and cruelty.  I can't imagine what it's like today.  But when you leave a child at the whim of the public education system, MTV, and Hollywood you've provided a perfect storm of moral disaster.  Moral disaster leading to social disaster.  Society can't function on a valueless orthodoxy.  It will destroy itself, trying to pass more and more laws to try and somehow cover all the new areas of crime, drug abuse, and sin.  Eventually the government devastates itself with endless regulations and laws to try to stem the tide of moral decay, toppling over having roped itself in so many laws, regulations, and authoritarian dictates that it can no longer sustain a free society.  

This is the point when people say, "It's the job of the parents to instill values in the children!  Public schools aren't suppose to do that!"  I tend to agree actually.  But for heavens sake, when are the parents suppose to do that?  Public school is five days a week.  Most parents work long hours making much less than they should.  They're exhausted, overworked, and trying to keep up with bills.  Meanwhile the kids are at school all the time, and when they're home they need to be working on homework.  Or they're participating in sports activities, clubs, or spending time with friends.  It's just not feasible for parents to keep up with all of that.  There is no time to spend, and instilling those values takes time, skill, and long hours.

My parents sent me to Catholic C.C.D.  I'm still not sure what that stands for.  But I do still recall the crawling dread in my spine at the thought of C.C.D. on Wednesday night.  If I was being taught by dead burnt out teachers on subjects they hated during public school hours, at Catholic C.C.D. at ol' St. Therese church I was being taught Catholic doctrine by dead burnt out nuns on Wednesday nights.  It made for a formidable duo of dead teachings described by dead people.  

But there was one year in C.C.D.  I can't recall what grade it was.  Every year we had a new dead nun to teach us emptiness.  But then there was one year of brightness.  This lady was young and alive.  She really believed what she was teaching us.  She was filled with this spirit.  And we kids loved her.  I remember being so eager to come to C.C.D. on Wednesday for that year.  Every word from her felt like it was channeled through God himself.  That year I really began to experience God.  Wow.  It was amazing.  She was amazing.  She was excited.  She really cared, and she really believed.  I remember at the end of that year going up to my mom and saying, "Mommy I'm afraid because I like this lady so much, but next year what if the teacher is another mean old nun?"  And my mother encouraged me.  But sure enough, as I walked in for the next school year, there was another fat, old, dead, heartless nun and whatever fire I had gained the previous year was quickly swept away.  

The more the years went on the more it was just a big joke to all of us in C.C.D.  I remember this one guy in the class, ol' Justin Stankowski.  He was brilliant.  He hid a CD player (this was before ipods kids) in his jacket pocket, and somehow ran the wire for the speaker up his jacket arm and placed the small ear bud in his hand, and he would rest his head against hand and cup the ear bud against his ear and listen to music during C.C.D.   

Even if we had had teachers like the passionate young believer I had one year in C.C.D. it was only one night a week for an hour.  Meanwhile public school was 8 hours a day, five days a week.  One hour of C.C.D. and one hour of church on Sunday can't compete with that.  There just isn't enough time to instill the correct values.  Meanwhile in the absence of moral values in the public school, in that vacuum comes a different set of values, the worldly set.  That set is taught by television, usually it consists of total selfishness, entertain myself at all costs, sex whenever with whoever, alcohol and drugs good, church bad, and science is the only means to truth. 

"How I hated schools, and what a life of anxiety I lived there. I counted the hours to the end of every term, when I should return home." -Winston Churchill

In addition, public schools seem to miss a lot of the most important topics of life.  Children are never taught how to balance a check book.  They are never taught how to manage their finances.  They are never taught how to use credit cards wisely.  They are never taught about interest rates, savings, checking, or how to start a business.  They aren't taught how to go about buying a house, or how to save money for retirement.  Many would retort, public schools are preparing children for college.  But many children won't be attending college, when are they suppose to learn the practical aspects of life!?  And must public school be only and ever only about preparation for college?  Shouldn't public education take into account the majority of students who won't go on to any further education?  

One could now explore the growing overreach of public schools into how children are raised and dealt with.  One could see how creative students are treated as mentally ill because they behave differently than analytically minded students. One could also look at how public schools are being forced to open female bathrooms to males who claim to be "transgendered female" and the boy's bathroom to girls who claim to be "transgendered male."  One could look at the sexual abuse cases by teachers against children.  One could also look at the new cultural values of LGBTQ and how such things are making their way into public education, teaching values in direct contradiction to Christian values.  We could look at how secular philosophy and evolutionary biology are pushed so thoroughly that they drive belief in God out of children all together.  But we don't have enough time or space to go into those issues.

So what is the solution?  Should Christians send their children to public schools?  Are there certain circumstances when children may go to public school even though they are Christians?  

My conclusion is simple.  Based on my personal experience with public school, understanding the curriculum, the culture that arises in the ranks of the young, and the persecution of young people who bring bibles to school or try to pray freely, I cannot in good conscience suggest that any Christian parent ever send their son or daughter to a public school under any circumstances.  The dangers are too great.  The lack of values is too powerful, and getting increasingly more prevalent.  It will only get worse.  Christian parents, if they chose to send their kids to public schools, are choosing to send their children into a dangerous environment.  They do so at their own peril, and they risk the salvation of their own children by doing so.

"I pay the schoolmaster, but it is the schoolboys who educate my son." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Instead Christian parents should either home school their children, or send their children to private Christian schools.  Before sending children to a private school the parent ought to thoroughly research the institution to ensure it will communicate the Christian message in a vibrant, relevant format.  

"It is among the commonplaces of education that we often first cut off the living root and then try to replace its natural functions by artificial means. Thus we suppress the child's curiosity and then when he lacks a natural interest in learning he is offered special coaching for his scholastic difficulties." -Alice Duer Miller

Unfortunately for most Christians neither of these options will be possible.  Both can be quite expensive, and home schooling takes a great deal of time and attention.  

All Christians should look to support vouchers for private schools.  This is a political movement, quite active in Wisconsin and other areas, that promotes legislation to give parents the option of sending their kids to private schools.  Instead of being forced to send their kids to liberal public schools, they would have the option to receive a voucher to send their children to a private school of their choosing.  This initiative is intensely resisted by the ACLU and FFRF who claim that vouchers will "hurt public schools."  But it's all about control.  They know they can manufacture a secular future by forcing Christians to put their kids in the public indoctrination center.  Take a stand for vouchers.  Explore private Christian schools and options in that area.  

In the final conclusion, public schools aren't necessarily terrible places.  I'm sure some public schools are quality institutions.  But they don't communicate Christian values.  They are unable to communicate any values.  This leaves a vacuum of moral decay within the framework of the school system leading to gangs, bullying, teasing, and persecution against those who refuse to conform.  It tends to build to a perfect storm.  Christians should think twice before sending their children to a public school.  Instead Christian parents ought to explore homeschooling or private Christian schools.  Unfortunately these are not always viable options, so Christian parents may be forced to send their children to public schools.  In that case, parents in that situation will need to be extremely intentional about communicating Christian values.  In that circumstance, which will probably be quite common I would recommend the parents set aside time every night to share a message based on the Bible and the Christian worldview.  Perhaps that will be enough.  

I hope I haven't been too severe in this article.  But you've got to understand, I went to one of the best public school districts in the country.  D.C.E. district is renowned as one of the best.  And my experience was a total nightmare.  Sports and football players received special treatment from teachers and staff.  Social clicks made every day a brutal exercise in bullying, teasing, and even physical attacks.  There were some good teachers.  But many were quite cynical and jaded.  I was eventually expelled from D.C.E. because students made allegations against me that I had threatened to blow up the school.  Another interesting fact about my life!  It was at that time when during the school day I would endure mockery and ridicule, and feeling quite lonely I would dog through it all at the edge of emotional collapse.  Often on the bus I would become the target of a 45 minute mocking session, where the whole bus would join up in hurling insults at me.  Then when I walked in the door at home I would arrive to my parents screaming at each other in the hallway.  Then I would go into my room, turn up KoRn, and just lay on the floor and cry.  I started acting out, causing more trouble at school, rumors went around about this Justin Steckbauer kid who was going to shoot up the school.  This was right after Columbine too.  Of course I didn't even own any guns.  The same students who had bullied me, and made a fool out of me every chance they could get, heard these rumors.  They spoke to their parents, influential sports players and all, and I was quietly expelled.  I later graduated anyway, and went on to college, but the point here is my experience was an awful one.  And it's mirrored in millions of other children's lives across the country.  

In discussing our public school experience a friend and I recalled it very simply: It was like a dual attack.  First was the awful homework, classes, boring endless hours of learning to despise every core topic.  And secondly, perhaps even worse the cruel totalitarian nightmare of social clicks, bullying, hatred, teasing, and physical attacks in the hallways between classes.  No one need endure such things.  It's not a game.  It's not an initiation.  It's not right.  It shouldn't exist.  It shouldn't continue.  Parents, protect your children from that kind of environment.  Christians, stand up for vouchers, stand up for homeschooling and private Christian schools.  Public schools are not all bad, but for Christians, the values, teachings, and social environment are entirely incompatible with the Christian worldview.  

"Anyone who has passed through the regular gradations of a classical education, and is not made a fool by it, may consider himself as having had a very narrow escape." -William Hazlitt

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