God’s Word in Schools Essay

Currently our country is in moral decay because we are not raising our children under the authority of God’s Word. For example, some parents feel as though their children should not have to do chores around the house. It is our responsibility as parents to educate our children on what God’s Word  says about all of life’s issues, including chores. In Jane Smiley’s, The Case Against Chores she attacks parents that have their kids do chores saying that it alienates children from the family, but it my family it brings us together because we all pitch in to get the job done. In 1 Samuel 16:11 it says when Samuel came to anoint David, he was in the field tending the sheep. He was doing his chores! This passage clearly indicates that God wants kids to do chores. Whether or not our kids do chores is not the biggest issue though. In the 1960’s the U. S. Supreme Court decided to take prayer out of our schools. From that point on our country has seen a vast moral decay resulting in things such as AIDS and the murder of millions of innocent babies. Are we to blame the government for this? How about the school system? We need to look at ourselves as parents. Since our school systems are not going to allow the Word to be taught we parents must take up the sword and teach our children what God has to say about life’s major issues. Traditional family values are quickly becoming a thing of the past. In her article Ms. Smiley states, â€Å"And don’t the parents love their children anyway, whether the children vacuum or not? † This is insinuating that the only reason parent’s love their kids, is because of the work they do. To that I say it’s because we love our kids we assign them chores. This helps them learn responsibility. The Bible says, â€Å"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it† (Proverbs 22:6). It’s not just about teaching our children what the Word says, but we must show them in our relationship with them. Ms. Smiley says in her article when she was taking care of her horse she saw the purpose of her labor. If we educate our children about God’s Word they will see the purpose in everything they do. Colossians 3:23 says, â€Å"And whatever you do work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. † When God’s Word is in our heart our entire life takes on new meaning. Ms. Smiley says in her article when she was a girl she had a problem with a teacher because she (Ms. Smiley) always did what she wanted to do. She had no responsibility. She would leave for school with her room a mess and return home and it would be cleaned up for her. It’s clear that God’s Word had not been taught to Ms. Smiley. The Bible says in Romans 13:1 that we are to submit ourselves to authority. Proverbs 15:33 tells us the fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom. Had Ms. Smiley been taught the Word there would not have been a problem. In the case of Ms. Smiley we can see where our culture is going astray. We have gotten away from God in the home and in the schools and we now have one generation passing down their values (or lack thereof)  to another. In order to restore our country to what our founding fathers intended it to be we must start in the homes. We can do this by giving our kids chores, disciplining them when needed, telling them what they need to hear as opposed to what they want to hear, spending time with them, showing them love, and most importantly teaching them about our Heavenly Father. In doing so we can bring up a nation of young leaders who can restore this great land to what it once was, one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.