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by Mike McHugh
In Psalm 51:10, David the psalmist prayed: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
This prayer was formed as God the Holy Spirit directed David to pray for a right spirit or attitude of heart to be restored to him, in the aftermath of his sin with Bathsheba. David was given the spiritual insight to recognize that when his desires or attitudes are outside of God’s will, then it is certain that his spirit needed revival and reformation. In other words, David saw that if he wanted to do God’s will, then he must also walk in the way of the Holy Spirit.
This same principle needs to be understood by parents who are pursuing home education, for if such ones are approaching their task with an improper heart attitude, then no amount of human effort will make things right. What then, you may ask, is the right heart attitude or spirit for home schooling? The spirit that parent educators must embrace is that of a meek and humble servant.
The call of Christian home education is, after all, not a calling to be ministered unto but to minister or serve the needs of those who have been entrusted to your care. In a manner similar to that of the Holy Spirit, parents are called to come alongside their children in order that they may be guided and comforted through this world to a better one. The chief attributes of heart that cause one to be a great home educator are compassion, meekness, and self-sacrifice. Not surprisingly, these are the same virtues that are depicted by the women in Proverbs 31, who is honored by God and her family precisely because of her servant spirit. It is also worth noting that the command that children “Honor thy Father and thy Mother,” is consistent with the biblical principle that, “He that will be chief among you, let him be a servant.”
So, when viewed from the perspective of God’s Word, do you have a right spirit when it comes to teaching your children? Do you see your calling as a high and holy one because you are picking up your cross and following in the way of Christ; or are you pursuing home education for some other reason? When you finish your journey through home education, the most important lesson you will pass on to your children is the importance of giving oneself to the service of Christ, and to others in need. It is, after all, only when parent educators lose themselves in doing God’s will, that they truly find their place in His perfect plan.
Copyright 2007 Michael J. McHugh
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