But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
–Numbers 14:24 (NKJV)
Most of us know the story how Joshua and Caleb saw the potential in Canaan Land while the others saw only the obstacles. Having a “different spirit” allowed them both to go into the Promise Land while all the others of their generation died in the wilderness. Thinking differently has its perks. Of course, it also has its challenges. Ask Joshua and Caleb. When they gave their pep talk about the opportunities of Canaan Land, they were rewarded with threats of stoning (Numbers 14:10).
When it comes to our own children, the strongest opponents of thinking differently can sometimes be us parents. How can that be? Most of us are first generation homeschoolers, which basically means we have a certain amount of institutional thinking in us that resists out of the box thinking, especially if it is our children we are talking about! Because out of the box thinking automatically assumes an unorthodox approach, we worry about some of the possible unorthodox outcomes; therefore, we want to play it safe, controlled, and knowable. Sure, we know the stories about discoveries that greatly impacted culture, but that won’t be our kid … or will it? So how can we foster a spirit of independent thinking in our children?
First, we parents must walk by faith and not by fear. If we believe that God is sovereign and that He is always working all things for our children’s good, even setbacks and disappointments are learning opportunities. After all, it is often the journey itself that teaches our children the most. One of my sons definitely thinks outside the box. I have joked that I will either live in the basement of his mansion or he will live in my basement. He is willing to take chances that some of my other kids are not. He is wired that way. I have watched him drop $3,000 on an opportunity that to this day has yield zero dollars and hours upon hours of time. Still, he is not deterred in the least; therefore, why should I? If we are teaching our children to seek the Lord, we need to rest in God’s timing and means.
We also want to teach our children to always ask, “Why?” “Why does it work like this?” “Why did they get this result?” Albert Einstein was quoted for saying, “… the important thing is not to stop questioning.“ In teaching them to ask, ”Why?” we are, by default, causing them to attack the status quo which goes against the cultural flow. Most people find the longest line and get in it, but we should challenge our children to ask, “Why should I get into this line?” This is especially true when it comes to their spiritual walk. If only 4% of Gen Z have a biblical worldview, our children should be thinking differently.
They also need to be observers of nature and processes. In 1928 Alexander Fleming returned from vacation to discover mold growing in a petri dish of bacteria cultures. He observed the bacteria cultures would not grow near the mold and wondered “Why?” The result was penicillin’s mass production in 1942 at the outset of World War 2. Of course, observation takes time. If you are an academically-driven parent, you may not want to see your children “wasting” time just looking around. Remember, God built curiosity into your children, and they need expression for that curiosity. Who knows what mechanical, natural, or spiritual observation they might make that could have a radical effect on their lives?
We also need to constantly point them to the bible, not just as a book of historical truths but also of creative possibilities. In Orwell’s 1984 everything was a drab gray as all the creativity of life had been sucked out of the culture. Our world is different insofar as God has fashioned it beautifully, and our children need to understand creation from the vantage point. American naval officer, Matthew Maury, was intrigued with Psalms 8:8 that says, “the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.” Through the inspiration of this verse and years of observation and research, he discovered how sea currents affected navigation. His work is still being used today, 150 years later. He was enshrined as Hall of Fame for Great Americans all because he read the bible and asked, “Why?”.
You must remember, raising an out of the box thinker is not easy, especially if you are an in the box parent. Both your patience and faith will be tested. You will constantly be wondering, “Am I ruining my child?” There will be all sorts of messes to contend with. People will give you unsolicited advice about how to raise your son or daughter even though they barely know them. Why? Different intimidates people, especially insecure people—yes, that includes us parents.
We promote homeschooling as a way to raise our children to be independent thinkers, then we are tempted to raise them just like public schoolers. We just need to be careful as parents that we are not the ones who box our children in. May we listen to the Spirit of God more than people because we need more Joshua’s and Caleb’s in this world.
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