This title sounds quite biblical doesn't it? Of course, you know I'm using a play on words from a portion of Jesus sermon on the mount, the parable of the builders. Permit me a few minutes of your time to explain the connection.
Building has always fascinated me. The whole process is so orderly and well planned from a piece of bare ground to a complete house or building. That is because successful building is based on a set of engineering laws that find their roots not only in the records of ancient builders but, as all natural laws, are based in God's plan of order. Every successful and lasting building begins with a well engineered and laid foundation. This was the teaching of Jesus in his parable of the builders. The foolish builder cut corners, for whatever reason, and did not dig into the soil and pour or lay a solid foundation (we call it a footer today) for his house so when the storms came, the unstable ground shifted and slipped and the house collapsed. The wise builder, however, took the time to plan and went to the extra expense to build a rock solid foundation and the house could withstand the shifting sands and storms that would beat against it. It's simple, right? Just plain old common sense, correct? Not so common as you might think.
Let me share two illustrations and then an application and you can determine what makes the most sense.
A parent walks into our school and says to us, "I have a four year old child and I want him in a Christian school now because I want them to have biblical foundation. As he goes through school, our home, our church AND our school can build on that solid foundation together. That way, if I can only afford a few years of Christian education it will be at the most crucial time for my child, when the foundations are being built,"
Another parent walks into our school and says to us, "I have a twelve year old child who is about to go into middle school and middle school is a dangerous time. I don't like what goes on over there at the public middle school. I bringing him to you to give them a safe place to go to school. The public elementary school was safe. There were good Christian teachers and we didn't see any problems with him being there the first six years of school."
In those two scenarios, who was the wisest parent? Understand, it is great for kids to enroll at ACS or another good Christian school anytime, but where are the foundations being built? At the risk of becoming somewhat clinical, let me explain. Children will have developed their basic cognitive belief system (worldview) between the ages of four and twelve. Theythen spend much of their adolescent and adult years seeking confirmation of their worldview. This explains much about the social interaction of teens and why they tend to seek out those who see the world like they do and "hang with that crowd." So, with that in mind, IF a parent can only afford Christian education for, say, six years, where should they place that investment? In pre-school/elementary OR middle/high school? I'll answer that question with two additional questions. Where are foundational worldviews established? Do you want your child's educational worldview established from a biblical or secular point of view? The WISE man built his house on the rock and when the winds blew and the storms raged the house on the rock stood fast. IF you can only afford a few years of Christian education, give us your children young, when the foundation is being built. That way their chances of withstanding the storms of Satanic attack and humanistic teaching are greatly increased. The profound simplicity of common sense.
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