20 My son,
keep your father's commands
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
21 Bind
them upon your heart forever;
fasten them around your neck.
22 When
you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For
these commands are a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and the corrections of discipline
are the way to life,
24
keeping you from the immoral woman,
from the smooth tongue of the wayward
wife.
In the last
post we talked about the upcoming National
Day of Silence. This event is sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educational Network (GLSEN). You can check
out the last post for details. In short this group is targeting middle and high
schools across the United States in an effort to increase tolerance for those who have unbiblical sexual practices and desires. These topics are
difficult to talk to adults about, let alone middle school age children. Yet
this is exactly what parents, church leaders and teachers must do if we are to
prepare our children for the world they will enter.
There has
been a concerted effort on many fronts over the last 40 years to make homosexual
and other alternative sexual lifestyles an accepted part of our culture. I
believe this effort has succeeded. David
Limbaugh has written a helpful book called Persecution
that chronicles this effort. The
result is that the homosexual lifestyle is now part of the American educational
landscape, even in elementary schools. My purpose in this post is to consider
how the Bible helps parents address these very issues. The word of God really
does have all that we need for life and godliness.
The passage
in Proverbs six at the beginning of the post speaks to this point. Notice verse
24. The words and instruction of parents, and by extension, church leaders and
teachers, are what God has provided to keep children from sexual immorality.
Read this passage carefully. It is these words of godly instruction that will
make the difference for children. This is exactly the message found in Instructing a Child’s Heart. This does
not mean that you have to sit down and have a graphic talk about gay and
lesbian sexual practices with your young children. But it does mean that your
instruction of your children must be directed to their hearts. Verse 21 above
says the parents’ instruction must become an integral part of the child’s
heart. This instruction is to be so much a part of the internal mind and heart
of a child that it shows itself in his outward behavior. “Binding upon the heart” results in outward behavior,
as distinctive as a stunningly beautiful necklace.
This passage
emphasizes the positive impact of loving God and his commands. Verse 22 talks
about the intimate activity of the word being in the heart. This is another way
to state the truth of Psalm 119:11: I
have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. The imagery of verse 22 is vivid. This
instruction is to be with the children and youths even when the parents are not
around.
In this post
I just want to highlight the importance of having practical instruction from Scripture
embedded into the lives of our children and young people. We will deal with
some steps for practical implementation in upcoming posts. But for now, focus
on verse 24. These words of the parents are the ones that will keep children
and young people from sexual immorality of any kind. The verse acknowledges that sexual temptation
is powerful and persuasive. But the verse also affirms that the word of God is
even more powerful! It was designed for this kind of spiritual combat.
Gay, lesbian, and straight are terms and practices that have invaded the culture
around us. Your children will hear them, whether in school or from
friends. The following is an excerpt
from an article in the Boston Globe, January 31, 2008:
A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld
the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Lexington parents who objected to same-sex families being discussed in their children's
elementary school classrooms.
Tonia
and David Parker of Lexington sued school officials in April 2006 after
their son brought home a book from kindergarten that depicted a gay
family. Joseph and Robin Wirthlin joined the suit after a second-grade
teacher
read the class a story about two princes falling in love.
In a ruling Thursday, the 1st U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals agreed with a judge who ruled in February 2007 that parents'
rights to exercise their religious beliefs are not violated when their children
are exposed to contrary ideas in school.
"Public schools are not obliged to
shield individual students from ideas which potentially are religiously
offensive, particularly when the school imposes no requirement that the student
agree with or affirm those ideas, or even participate in discussions about
them," the court said in its ruling.
Second grade and Kindergarten are the venues for modern sexual discussion and advocacy of alternative sexual behavior. Praise God that these events did not catch Him by surprise. He gave his word to place in our hearts and into the hearts of our children. More to come on this topic. Let me know your thoughts.
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You say in your post, "These topics are difficult to talk to adults about, let alone middle school age children. Yet this is exactly what parents, church leaders and teachers must do if we are to prepare our children for the world they will enter."
Why IS IT that these things are difficult to talk about? I have some of my own ideas from my personal experience, but would appreciate your insight.