Class is Still in Session

Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. –Daniel 6:3 (ESV)

When a nation forgets the Lord, there is not only the obvious spiritual fallout, but there are also many other implications as well. One of the first things that leaves is respect. Respect for authority. Respect for beauty and creativity. Respect for our fellow man. Respect for ourselves. Everything becomes a 1984 Orwellian abysmal gray.

I have noted to my children that neither Hollywood nor Nashville is putting out entertainment that inspires its followers. How many numerous remakes of movies from the 60’s and 70’s are there, movies that were not that good the first time around? To make matters worse, there is hardly any deviation from the original, even in the name of artistic liberty, unless, of course, it is for crudeness or sexuality’s sake.

Then we can compare modern art to the religious paintings of the 1500’s. I remember going to the St. Louis art gallery years ago and seeing the “artistical” display of a bathroom. Oh, yeah. That inspired me. Compare this travesty to Da Vinci’s Last Supper or the Last Judgement fresco by Michelangelo or The Wedding Feast at Cana by Italian Paolo Veronese. A casual glance completely destroys the concept of evolution. We are most definitely on a slide downward.

We can then transition into femininity. Many of modernity’s women will brag that they can cuss as bad and drink as hard as any man. They can also fight like any man in the rough and tumble world of business. Of course, this comes with a price tag as their faces naturally become hardened by the daily battles of corporate life and fighting with the boys as does their guilt for not being the wife and mother they feel they should be. They have everything they want, bought with the price of everything they need like healthy relationships, both vertically and horizontally.

The list of victims is endless. Dress. The tongue. Manners and etiquette. Respect for tradition. An entitlement mentality that replaces gratitude. When the foundation of Judeo-Christian values is shaken, everything suffers as a consequence. Sadly, even the Christian homeschooling circles are negatively impacted. Recently, a young adult homeschooler shared how disappointed she was with her friend circle as most are taking the low road in life, rejecting their parents’ values and even many of God’s. This trajectory must stop.

Where are the pulpits that challenge young people to rise up to the high calling of Christ rather than falling to culture’s celebration of the bottom of the gutter? When did class fall out of favor, only to be replaced by the ugly and uninspiring picture of mediocrity? Class and her sister excellence are always in session, not just for K – 12 but through all of life.

God does not set a bar so high that it is unattainable. However, the divide between excellence and complacency is wider now than it ever has been. The middle ground of general morality and common decency is quickly eroding with a few taking the high road of class and the great majority taking the path of least resistance toward mediocrity. Worse yet, mediocrity in one area spills over into other areas, leaving us compromised and disappointed when we look into the cultural mirror.

What does this mean for our children and for us parents? It means we have to pray more than before. It means we must provide an example of class to contrast the emptiness and the ugly results of the world’s ways. It means we need to put in the extra time, patience, and mercy to deepen our relationships with our children, so they can feel free to reach out to us with their hopes, dreams, disappointments, and failures. It means we must keep our biblical worldview glasses clean in order to recognize subtle departures from the word of God.

While my heart is heavy as I type this, my spirit is hopeful because God promises in Matthew 7:8, “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” It is in this vein that we are praying throughout January (and fasting on the second Tuesday if you want to join us) that God will call us all to walk in a spirit of excellence in 2024. As Paul said in Ephesians 5:14: ““Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

(Each one of these could serve as a discussion starter with your children. They must learn to think and act biblically, especially as they become young adults.)

1. Pray that our children will have their tongue under control regarding swearing, vulgar speech, and knowing when/if to speak. We want their speech to carry weight with people.
   • Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. –Eph. 4:29
   • Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. –Col. 4:6
2. Pray that our children (and we parents) will feel deep conviction when they watch or listen to various forms of entertainment that would not only displease God but that would lessen their spiritual sensitivities and intellectual capacities.
   • Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. –Phil 4:8
   • Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. –Ps. 119:37
3. Pray that our children would have a burden to watch, listen, and read things that would equip them to have biblically informed opinions and to be able to articulate those opinions in a mature, clear, and thoughtful manner.
   • But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. –Acts 6:10
   • Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. –Psalms 25:4
4. Pray that our children will have an appreciation for manners, etiquette, protocol and tradition which would carry them to a higher level of conduct than their peers or even their superiors.
   • Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. –Proverbs 22:29
   • “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. –Lev. 19:32
5. Pray that our children will be generous in their thoughts for others, especially being genuinely excited for other’s successes.
   1. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. –Phil. 2:4
   • And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” –1 Sam. 23:17 (Jonathan’s submission to David’s future rule even though Jonathan was the next in line to the throne.)
6. Pray that our children will understand how to use humor and any sarcasm correctly.
   • “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. –Matt. 10:16
   • Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. –1 Thes. 5:11
7. Pray that our children, while being sensitive to style to a certain degree, will dress in such a way that will reflect a spirit of excellence and will glorify God.
   • And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. –Col. 3:17
   • She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. –Proverbs 31:17
   • And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵ the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her. –1 Kings 10:5,6
8. Pray that our children will have a growing aversion to mindless activities like video games, certain forms of social media, foolish conversations, etc.
   • For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. –Romans 8:5,6
   • And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. –Ex. 36:2
9. Pray that our children will conduct themselves in such a mature way that it will demand respect from those with whom they come in contact.
   • And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. —Luke 2:52
   • Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. –Dan. 6:4
10. Pray that our sons will know how to treat the opposite sex and pray that our daughters will refuse advancements of young men who do not appreciate biblical femininity.
    • But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”– Gen. 34:31 (Dinah’s brother’s outrage after she had been assaulted and they took revenge)
11. Pray that as our children grow in proper conduct, they will have an unwavering confidence amidst a culture that celebrates rudeness, disrespect, and cynicism.
    • Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope? –Job 4:6
    • After I spoke they did not speak again, and my word dropped upon them. They waited for me as for the rain, and opened their mouths as for the spring. —Job 29:22, 23
12. Pray that our children will fully understand the importance of first impressions.
    • And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, ⁷ but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. –1 Kings 10:6, 7
    • Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king.” –Judges 8:18 (Gideon went from a man in hiding to dressing like a king.
13. Pray that our children, especially our sons, will know how to conduct themselves in emotionally heightened situations.
    • And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice. –1 Kings 3:28
    • A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. –Proverbs 15:1, 2
14. Pray that our children will have contextual awareness in order to know what behavior is/is not appropriate.
    • Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” –1 Kings 3:9
    • The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. –Proverbs 16:21