“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” Deuteronomy 7:6
God has always called His people to be holy and it’s always been a challenge because of the nations around them that have different values and religious beliefs than the people of God. Holiness is best described as being sacred or set apart, not perfect or sinless. God wants His people to consecrate themselves to God and God alone. In Leviticus 10:10 the distinction is between holy and profane or clean and unclean. God wants His people to be set apart from other nations which is what makes them holy. The Scriptures repeatedly make an emphasis on belief not race or nationality, but typically nations are defined by their religious beliefs. God’s concern is that His people will turn their hearts after other gods, 1 Kings 11:2. Are we keeping our children holy separate from the secular public school system?
How do we train our children to be holy in a secular world? Holiness in an ungodly world is not a new challenge. In Leviticus 19 God commands Israel to be holy by not mixing with other nation’s cattle, fields, tattoo marks and even their mix of garments. He continues explaining holiness in Leviticus 20 by explaining that holiness includes keeping statutes and practicing them. Israel was instructed not to follow customs of the nations and realize that God separates the clean from the unclean. The principle of training children in holiness is to keep them from mixing with the ways of the world.
God’s concern is further explained in Deuteronomy 7:4 in order to prevent His people from turning away from His ways. In Deuteronomy 7 we are introduced to the concept of “unequally yoked” in marriage. The illustration is of two oxen going in two different directions which would create chaos and division. In a marriage, a couple with different beliefs could cause the other to turn to idolatry and the rejection of God.
The book of Judges is a great example of how generation after generation of Israelites refused to drive out foreign nations which resulted in the people of Israel playing the harlot and turning away from the beliefs of their fathers. The consequences for the people of Israel were devastating.
If we are called to imitate Christ and not the ways of the world in order to be holy then we should apply the process of holy separation. God chose Israel and kept His judgments for Egypt during the time of The Plagues.
“You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” Leviticus 20:26
Generation after generation Israel was continuously instructed by God to protect their families through holy separation. The scriptures are filled with reminders likes circumcision, dress codes, eating instructions, and strict marriage guidelines to preserve spiritual purity. When Eliezer seeks out a wife for Isaac his instruction is to avoid a Canaanite wife because of pagan worship and idolatry, not ethnicity.
Are we following the pattern of holy separation when we send our children to public school? Would Israel send their children to Egyptian, Canaanite, Philistine, or Babylonian school districts? The Scriptures clearly assume that there would be separation from ungodly influence of the culture around them. We realize that children are strongly impressionable by their teachers and most learning is caught not taught. What are children learning from their public school teachers? Keep in mind all public school curriculum has eliminated any Christian influence and Christian teachers are not allowed to teach from a Christian world view. Any other religious or philosophical view is permitted.
Any parent that has a desire for their children to be holy should strongly consider the wisdom of sending their children to public school for holy instruction. There is nothing about a public school that promotes Christian living. The postmodern worldview is in direct contradiction of moral absolutes like male female identity, pre-marital sex, respecting parents, life-long marriage, promiscuity, homosexuality, abortion and the like. In fact, Christians are mocked and demonized as fools and haters for their Biblical convictions by adult teachers and students.