Today I need to vent a little about something. Ok I realize this has nothing to do with work, but in a round about way, since it has to do with me and I own the company, I'm gonna write about it:) .
As I've said many times before and I realize it's really nobody's business, but I whole heartedly believe in God. I believe He created all the beautiful things around us and is always "watching" over us. I won't bore you (at least not in this post) with all my opinions as they really have nothing to do with this, but here it goes. Yesterday my 12 yo son's teacher/principal sent home this survey asking about "texting etiquette". By this I mean the questions pertained to the rules we have at home regarding cell phones and texting. What times are you allowed to text, do your parents check your texts, how often do they check your phone, what kind of texts are morally correct, etc. There were a few more but these are what I remember at the moment.
It's a house rule that we know the passwords to any and all electronic devices around the house. We (my wife and I) are allowed to check these devices at any time and we do. We monitor what kind of music the kids have on their ipods. We limit the amount of time each of them are allowed to use the computer, ipod, etc. If they abuse it, they lose it. I'll be the first to tell you my kids have it way better than I ever had it. I want them to, yet I want them to learn the value of work. It's not an easy road to travel. There's a lot of middle ground, but we do our best to keep them grounded and not take things for granted.
Anyway, we have rules. My problem with the survey..............what business is it of the teachers what rules we have for our kids? Good parents have rules and they have consequences, but how we make up these rules and what we do to enforce them is no business of a teachers or a schools.
I'm not done complaining. My kids go to a Christian school. It's a small school and the education is excellent. I went to Blue Ridge all my life and feel I had a pretty good education, but the public school system is no where near what it used to be. I realize that by sending them to a private Christian school, there are going to be a wide array of opinions on what is taught, after all, even being a Christian is today's world is not very easy. There are opinions everywhere.
When I was little kid I grew up going to the Baptist church. Then in high school I started going to the Catholic church. Once I hit college I found that I really enjoyed a local nondenominational church. Why did I like it? The music rocked!! As a college kid it really allowed me a way to connect with my God. Oh and one more item, remember I was a biology and chemistry major. If you want to find a ton of people who doubt God, just go to a college biology building. Scientists and Creationist just really never seem to agree on much. I'm saying all this to basically explain that I have a pretty open mind when it comes to what people believe. Doesn't God himself tell us not to judge others?? Who are the worst about judging others? People and their religions. God is God. I don't know if the dude is tall short, black or white, English or French, I have no clue. I do know that He's pretty friggin amazing though. He does, after all seem to put up with all my pathetic issues.
There are a lot of beautiful people in this world. Each one is a child of God. Whether it be a little kid in Africa who has never heard of the Bible or some punk ass teen in south LA, each is a blessing from God. Who are we as humans to judge anyone? We have no clue what another person has been through, why they are the way they are or why they believe what they do. I'm sure in the end we will all realize the Plan God has for us. As for now though, isn't it up to us to make the world a better place? Not by pushing our beliefs on others, but for loving and respecting one another. God is all about Love! Nothing less nothing more. His greatest commandment is Love. If we succeed with that, then everything else falls into place.
Ok I'm rambling, but my point is, I want my kids to grow up open minded. I want them to love and respect others. Do I want them to worry about whether or not were "saved" by faith or works? Absolutely not. You can't have one without the other so why bother with the argument? I don't want my kids growing up judging others. We all fall short of the Glory of God. It's not rocket science to see that most of us fall way short. Yet like any good loving Father, God sets us straight and lets us move on to our next screw up.
I think I've really talked in circles about this, but hey, I feel better now about my original complaint:). It's time for me to get back to working on my overly fun accreditation material.
Hope you all have a super day. Oh and Hey Danielle!!!! Have you had that baby yet?? Did you get the footballs and baseball glove??? Hope you and your growing family are doing great.
4 comments:
Being saved by grace through faith is one of the most fundamental differences between Christianity and other belief systems such as Buddism and Mormonism. What kids should not worry about their entire lives is the uncertainty of their own salvation and whether or not they are spinning their wheels trying to "earn" their salvation through good deeds rather than just accepting a gift of grace through Christ that is given freely. Good works follow after this acceptance from the desire to be more Christlike.
While I believe your first sentence, I’ll have to disagree with the rest. First, I don’t think most children worry at all about salvation. They worry about what cartoon is coming on next. As for works vs grace and doing it to be Christ like or just doing it to attain a heavenly goal, I think it comes down to ones heart. I know many great people that do great deeds every day. Not to be Christ like or to look better in God’s eyes, but because it’s just the right thing to do. Now which do you think looks better in the eyes of a loving Father? Someone doing something nice because of some outside motivation, or doing it because their heart is in the right place? I guess my point is, whether Buddhist, Mormon, Christian or whatever, this shouldn’t even be an argument. I’ve seen this very topic tear families apart. I have to believe this wasn’t God’s intent. I don’t want people to feel I’m attacking Christianity, as I believe in Christ as well, what bugs me with all religions is their feeling of being 100% correct on every topic and casting judgement on those that don’t believe 100% the way they do. People of all faiths are guilty of this. This is what pushes people away.
You are absolutely correct about people doing good deeds for the sake of them being the right thing to do, Christian or not. The Good Samaritan parable from the Bible teaches this very lesson. Compassion and uncondional love is an essential teaching we want to pass to our children.
You say that your children attend a private Christian school. I dont think there is a wide array of what is being taught there when compared to a public school. The teachings of a Christian school are biblically based. One leader, One authority: Christ. And you are right, Christ is love. Undoubtedly, your kids are being taught salvation by grace. Do they worry about it now? Probably not, in the same way they dont worry about relationships, finances, society, etc. But we still teach them about those things. I just find it interesting that you have them attend a Christian school but dont fully believe in all that they are being taught.
I think our loving Father wants our motivation for doing good deeds to be for the sole purpose of bringing glory to Him.
If you send your child to public school does one agree with everything taught there? I'm very happy with the education they are receiving. My kids have excelled beyond belief after switching from public to private school. My issue with the school was the line they were crossing when it came to parenting.
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