96th Edition
Abraham Lincoln once said, “The philosophy in the classroom in one generation, becomes the philosophy of government in the next.” Sobering words, aren’t they. I recently read a very interesting book by Pete Hegseth, who was President Trump’s choice to be the Secretary of Defense. The book is called, “Battle for the American Mind.” To anyone involved in education, as I have been for over thirty years as a coach, the book is unsettling, to say the least.
The book illustrates how God has been systematically removed from public education over the past one hundred years, or so. Returning to Lincoln’s words, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that God has been largely removed from the philosophy and ideology of government, as well as the predominate culture in our country today.
There are two issues I want to expound upon in this edition. The first is what it means to be Christ centered. Also, what it doesn’t mean, or at least I’ll try to dispel what detractors falsely claim it means. The second is to offer a simple solution, a path toward returning Christ to the center of educational philosophy.
For those of you who are still reading, let’s get started.
First, what does it mean to be Christ-centered? Is it focused primarily on doctrine and judgmentalism? In simple terms, the answer is no. It is so much more than that. It is a guide to how to think and act and relate to other people all in pursuit of righteous living. Christ-centered individuals wear a cloak of humility and rely upon grace and forgiveness and the power of the Holy Spirit as a daily guide and counselor. It involves doing things the right way for the right reasons. It embraces service before self.
A Christ-centered person will exude the Fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Who wouldn’t want to hang around with a person who exudes all those character traits!? At the same time, a Christ-centered person fully realizes that often they fall short of these wonderful spirit-filled qualities and must rely on God’s grace and forgiveness to get back on track. In their best moments, a Christ-centered person is not judgmental and is not self-righteous. They are always more concerned about the plank in their own eye than the speck of sand in someone else’s eye. In their worst moments they recognize their mistakes and do their best to correct them. They take ownership of their thoughts and deeds. Above all, they acknowledge God is sovereign in every aspect of their life. A Christ-centered person will be careful not to place any false gods before their Heavenly Creator.
We all know these kinds of people, don’t we? They should be our role models, and we should strive to become role models to others. If we are in a position of leadership we should strive to be a servant leader.
So what are some of the complaints against Christians that might not be accurate? The primary one I have experienced is that detractors of Christianity believe that Christians think their way is the only way. More clearly, the only way to live righteously and the only way to heaven. That may be a part of Christian doctrine, and Christian evangelism, but is not central to living a Christ-centered life. Loving others, even when it is difficult, is much more consistent with being Christ-centered than leading with judgmentalism and doctrine. In other words, if you come across a person claiming to be a Christian and they don’t exude the Fruit of the Spirit, at least most of the time, then they are not living a Christ-centered life. If we insist on judging others, we should consider their body of evidence, and not judge people only by their best moments or their worst moments. None of us are perfect, but we are all forgiven.
As everyone who has tried to live a Christ-centered life has realized, doing so, consistently, day in and day out is extremely difficult. One of the keys is to develop a discipline and begin each day in prayer, asking for the presence of the Holy Spirit. Committed Christians call this dying to self. It involves surrendering one’s will to the will of God. Before a person can be Spirit-filled, he must first empty or flush out his selfish desires. Obviously not easy to do. But having this daily discipline of surrendering to God’s will unlock the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a great way to start each day. Think of it as spiritual exercise for the soul.
All this begs an interesting question… What would life be like in school should this daily discipline of prayer and surrender to God’s will happen at the beginning of each day? Would there be as much bullying, violence, suicidal thoughts, drug abuse, as we see too often today in public schools? Might be worth considering, don’t you think?
Now for the simple solution to the crisis in public education today. Let’s start more Christian schools. Enough so every child has the option of attending one. The Christian schools in my area all have long waiting lists. Ever wonder why?
The power base, which controls public education, from the Department of Education, teacher’s unions, and progressive academia, has eliminated faith and knowledge of God from playing any role. It would be futile to try to reinsert God back into public education in the face of these well-entrenched forces. A much more viable alternative is to build additional Christian schools. I view it as a battle for the soul of our nation. What do you think?
Please help me grow my readership by forwarding this to a friend(s). In the meantime, stay tuned for my next newsletter. Thanks
Michael Kayes
*These views are my personal opinions and are not the viewpoints of any company or organization.