World-View

     I teach at a parochial school; one where I enjoy a great deal of freedom to integrate my personal beliefs into platform instruction. Now, I realize that teachers in the public school arena enjoy similar freedoms; however, they must tread very carefully, but that is not the subject of this essay. I fear I squander my freedom, settling for a minimal approach that focuses on ensuring locally correct social-political beliefs and my students suffer for it. We enjoy talking about how our educational model inculcates a “Christian World-View.” We expend a significant amount of institutional energy talking about it, seeking to define what it is, and integrating it into our lesson plans. All of this is good, as far as it goes. Yet, whenever we hear about a student running afoul of our understanding of Christian morality we engage in serious soul-searching, hoping to find that chink in our armor or crack in our dike and plaster over it with some new argument or lesson plan. Still, despite our best efforts, not only do we see students make poor choices after graduation, we struggle with the same problems of a public school, only on a smaller scale. Given all of our effort to educate our students, helping them develop a Christian World-View, why do we see these things?

     First of all, there is no easy fix to the human condition. If there were, God would have penned a shorter instruction manual, full of lesson plans complete with aligned objectives that addressed all the various learning styles and encouraged self-awareness, self-actualization, and self-moderation. In His wisdom He equipped us with choice, that annoying ability to choose self-gratification. No matter how high we build the wall or dig the moat students get a vote; and they often vote contrary to how we think they should. But this does not fully answer the question. I think we have to look at what we teach.

     Most discussions of a “Christian” World-View start with some version of the following list of questions:

·         Where did we come from?

·         Why are we here?

·         Is there a God?

·         If there is a God, what does He want?

·         What happens to us after we die?

·         Did we evolve or were we created?

·         Is morality absolute or subjective?

These are good questions, questions deserving careful examination. How we answer them exerts great influence on how we view the world. Yet, these questions do not go far enough. So we normally take the next step, coming up with a more focused list. The list below contains some of the more common ones:

·         Do you think homosexuality is a sin or an alternative lifestyle?

·         Is abortion wrong, or is it a woman's right?

·         Should capital punishment be allowed or abolished?

·         Should more energy be directed at protecting the seals and whales or cutting down trees to build homes?

·         Should people be drafted for the military?

·         Would you vote Republican, Democrat, non-partisan, something else, or not at all?

·         Do you think democracy is better than communism or socialism?

·         Should prostitution be a legitimate business practice?

·         Should we legalize marijuana and other such drugs?

·         Should marriage be defined as occurring between one man and one woman?

Again this is a fine list. It contains almost all the current significant issues we face in the socio-political realm. Helping students understand how our world-view influences key issues is a laudable goal as it shows them how our core beliefs influence decisions. But we skip the most important step.

     In Philippians 3:2-11, Paul address the key issue; works or relationship. Paul describes in exhausting detail how he, above all, can stand on his accomplishments. But in the end, no matter how high he piles up accolades, he still falls short of his ultimate goal.  He only finds salvation in the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ.” He considers everything else worthless dung. He fully understands the uselessness of works and achievement and willingly gives it all up in order to know Jesus, resting in His righteousness.     

     And this is where we make our key mistake. We assume our students enjoy an intimate relationship with Jesus. We plunge ahead spending our time on the “hot-button” issues of the day, devoting precious little time to helping our charges grow in their relationship with Jesus. We want our pupils to make right choices. We do not want them to be unaware of the pitfalls that lie ahead. We know that certain key issues, certain collective forces, certain cultural movements portend unwanted societal shifts and we labor to seal any perceived chinks in our organizational armor. Those of us who have reached the half-century mark ought to know better.

     The list of “hot-button” issues morph over time. Societies grow, change, and evolve. What plagued West Texas in the early 70’s does not matter today. We’ve either moved on or decided that issue does not matter. Much to the astonishment of many of my students, I remember when Texas was a solidly Democratic state; as was the entire southern section of the country. When I spend my time as a teacher, an influencer of students, focused on the issues of the day I ill equip them for the future. By the time they get out of school the things we discuss in foyers and passionately argue about on social-media may very well have passed; replaced by a new set. But the key question remains; how do you relate to Jesus?

     I most help my students when I point them toward Jesus, aiding them in developing a vibrant relationship with Him that sustains no matter the current turmoil of society. Being able to refute arguments may prove somewhat useful, being in love with, dedicated and in submission to Jesus is indispensable to successful navigation of the twists and turns of life. Our relationship with Him is the grid through which we sort out the challenges life throws our way. Hot button issues come and go as do the skills and logic that deals with them. Jesus remains, eternal, ever present, always able to guide us through the labyrinth of life. This is the world view I need to communicate to my students, Jesus and the all surpassing worth of knowing Him.