Academics or Relationships

In a recent article by George Barna. In The Barna Group, Mr. Barna makes this comment:

"Education, both in the home and outside of it, provides diminishing emphasis upon the development of character, and increasing emphasis upon meeting academic performance standards, especially through standardized testing."

Isn’t that the truth! We Christians have almost entirely conformed to the world in the area of education, haven’t we? Haven’t we come to believe that efficiency of factual intake should structure our educational methods? Don’t our very methods of educating reveal that we believe that education is primarily concerned with the shortest, most efficient route to acquire the optimum amount of knowledge?

Isn’t this fact attested to everyday as we tear down the family structure and send our little children to wicked men and unbelievers in order to be “educated”?

Isn’t this fact revealed every Sunday as we once again break down the family structure and segregate every one into their own little cubbyholes in order for each individual to go learn?

We can’t have five-year olds and ten-year olds together because it will slow down the learning process for both of them, and we couldn’t have either one them with the adults because (perish the thought) they might get bored. And we certainly can’t have infants and children in the church service with us because they might distract us, and on and on and on.

Scriptural education, however, is covenantal in nature. It is relationship oriented. Scriptural education is not structured by efficiency, but by what will produce the most intimate and harmonious relationship (brought about by character) with God first and then with men (Jer. 9:23; Matt. 22:36-40; 2 Peter 1:5-9). God did not establish schools with special classrooms and special teachers to deal with groups of children entirely severed from their family relationships. God established covenantal families in which the parents could walk with, talk with, live with, love, train, and gain the hearts of their age-integrated children. It is in this atmosphere, where the parents have the hearts of children, that biblical education can be most truly carried out.

Brethren, both life and education are all about relationships, aren’t they? Doesn’t Christ teach us this truth in Matthew 22: 35-40 where He tells us that the greatest commandment is too “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul and with all of your mind.” This, the greatest commandment, deals with our relationship with God.

And doesn’t He teach us that second greatest commandment, is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” And doesn’t this commandment deal with our relationship to our fellow man?

On these two commandments, Jesus tells us, “hang all the law and the prophets.” In other words, all of Scripture (the law and the prophets) directs us too the proper fulfillment of these two relationships.

If these are the two greatest commandments and all of scripture is concerned with their fulfillment, then aren’t they the end toward which all of life is aiming? And if they are the end toward which all of life is aiming then aren’t they the end toward which all of our educational methods should be taking us?