Council Grove Christian Church

Servants of God,
 

’Twas the day after the presidential election and students were a wreck
The teachers prepared for their time to reflect.
With cookies and crayons and Legos we’re told,
the poor and disappointed were pampered by the drove.”

 
Okay, it is not worthy of the label of poetry. It could give doggerel a bad name, but it was fun. Did you know that the day after Donald Trump was elected as the 47^th President of the United States of America it was a day of mourning and care for students who were devastated by the election results?
 
At Georgetown there was a “Self-Care Suite” where students could play with Legos, color with crayons and eat milk and cookies “in recognition of these stressful times.” No, I am not kidding and Georgetown was not alone. Princeton, Northwestern, Michigan State and many other schools offered special dispensations to traumatized students. Professors reached out to comfort and encourage students who had been hurt by learning the election results. They offered various special “safe-spaces”, snacks and even cancelled classes and exams. American universities are in a steep decline. We are witnessing the decay of a once-great educational system.
 
If you think the shut down of the Department of Education is a positive, you have probably been  paying attention to what has been happening in American education. From preschool to grad school students are encouraged to settle for the minimum, be self-centered and to loathe their own nation. It is producing students who have no fear of God and little ability to discern when they are being led down the path of destruction. The way that “seems right to a man” is the road to death—both individually and nationally.
 
Public education has been staffed by some of the most lovely and caring people on earth. At the same time, from Horace Mann to John Dewey to the present DEI crowd, the underlying philosophy that has most shaped public education has been Marxist in its various forms. The National Education Association (NEA), like Planned Parenthood has largely been the opposite of its name. These organizations are waging war against God and the created order. Instead of producing strong, clear-thinking and courageous citizens, they are producing snowflakes and misfits who cry out to be pampered and considered victims when they do not get their way.
 
Public school has usurped the church of Jesus Christ as the institution which shapes the nation. If you want to know what the founding generation thought about education read the Northwest  Ordinance of 1787. Education and Christian morality were considered inseparable. As the church has faded in its responsibility to educate people, the government has stepped in to catechize. Both basic education and the first colleges in America were founded on biblical truth. Christians have lost sight of the goal of  teaching the truth about God, the world and humanity. The Bible warns us against being self-centered and weak. Believers are not perfect but we trust our God who is. We know that true learning involves proper appreciation for the creation because it points us to the glory of the Creator. When we understand that the earth is the LORD’s (Psalm 24:1) and that His works are worth delighting in (Psalm 111:2), it opens a glorious universe of wonder. When we see our personal bent toward a skill, art or science as a God-given blessing, we can robustly pursue excellence. God has placed us in a world where diligence, productivity and delayed gratification lead to abundance. Work is not a curse; it is a privilege and a duty to God.
 
College-level education is becoming less valuable and more expensive each year. Government involvement in education has driven up the price and lowered the outcomes of education across the spectrum. The lie that every person should go to college or be doomed to a low-wage and low-status life of drudgery is being exposed by many young self-directed Americans. The dangerous shortage of workers in the trades has led to the reality that a plumber or carpenter or electrician who pursues excellence will out earn the average college graduate (and incur less debt).
 
God made humans to work and build and accomplish. There is great satisfaction in working in the service to others. Those who diligently and honorably produce goods and services for others are truly loving their neighbors. A good education will prepare a man or woman to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.
 
I will make a prediction. If the closing down of the Department of Education actually happens and the control of education returns to the state level, education from top to bottom will improve and our nation will be the better for the competition and innovation that will bring dramatic, positive change to American education.
 
Blessings,
 
Pastor John
 
Coram Deo