Disciple or Pharisee?

This is the time of year when we home school moms go through the process of narrowing down our curriculum choices. What to use? What NOT to use? What could I live with/not live without? Trust me; marketers have discovered a goldmine here, but home school parents are usually on one income and oh, so savvy when it comes to letting go of those dollars. If you have what we want and need, we'll gladly plunk the money down. If you don't, you'll be sitting in your booth at the curriculum fair alone.

Through the years, I have seen trends come and go in the home school world. There's usually a buzz word which people latch on to, and they buy anything and everything with the buzz word on it. One year, it was "Character Based." Another year, it was "Classical Education," which was followed quickly by "Trivium," "Chronological History" and "Timelines." These last ones have actually disturbed me the most.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a strong supporter of "classical" education in the truest sense of the word, which is more along the lines of a Charlotte Mason educational method -- using whole books, lots of reading, great literature, lots of exploration of the world around our children, notebooking, narration, and dictation; real learning instead of a dumping of facts for rote memorization. Over the past few years, however, there has been a trend in "classical" education that is morphing into something else entirely. I couldn't exactly put my finger on why it was so disturbing, but the message in church on Sunday hit it on the head!

The "Classical" education today encourages knowledge for the sake of knowledge. There's a big push to learn "Socratic dialog" (*more on that later) and to teach history chronologically. The book lists, classic literature, and foreign language lists are impressive. In fact, the entire scope and sequence looks quite impressive! You'll definitely have one well-educated little tyke if you're able to follow it completely!

If we look in the Bible, who else was considered well-educated? In fact, who were considered to be the most educated of anyone, and they knew it?

That's right; the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were so puffed up with their own knowledge, it was almost impossible for anyone else to live with them. Jesus had so much to say to them (Matthew 23), and His words were not kind. Specifically, he used terms like hypocrites, blind guides, serpents, and brood of vipers when he spoke of them. Far from applauding their work in Matthew 23, over and over He said, "Woe to you"! He chastised them for working so hard and traveling on sea and land to make one convert, then that unfortunate convert became, "twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." (Matt. 23:15)

Except for one, that is.

John 3 introduces us to a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, who was actually wanting to know. He was afraid of what the other Pharisee leaders would say about him, so he came to Jesus under the cover of darkness. It's implied that what Jesus was doing must have been so wonderful and so disturbing to him, that he couldn't let it go. He had to have some answers! He understood that Jesus had to be from God, because no one could do the things Jesus had done unless he came from God (John 3:2).

During their conversation, Jesus rebuked him as he had all the Pharisees, but this time his rebuke was gentle. "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?" (John 3:10)

To paraphrase verses 5-12: You mean to tell me, Nicodemus, that you have studied and studied and yet you still don't get it? And you call yourself a teacher of all things godly? Dig deeper! All your studying is useless unless it leads you to a deeper understanding of God. But you can't understand God unless you have been born of the Spirit. Only the Spirit can open your eyes to spiritual things. Know this, and you will truly know everything.

Our pastor summed it up this way, "His vast education had not equipped him to understand the things of God."

I swore I'd never home school. I thought home schoolers were crazy and ruining their children. Yet, like Paul on the road to Damascus, my eyes were opened when I saw what I wanted most for my children, godly character, was the least of what they were getting each day. I saw the photo album of a home school mom here in Florida, and every subject they studied led them to an understanding of the character of God, whether that subject was historical, scientific, geographical, or anything at all. I actually gasped out loud! I went home and cried and cried, because I knew I would have to home school my children and I had spoken so harshly of it for so many years. It's so hard to die to self!

Simply put; knowledge that does not lead to a deeper understanding of God, or cannot be used to His glory, is useless knowledge. Dear home school Mom, on what are you spending your hard-earned dollars? On what are you spending the short season of time God has given you to train your [His] children? Are your goals for home schooling, truly, strictly academic?

I would consider the academics a bonus, and they will come if you trust God with your children and your school, because they can obviously be used for the glory of God. Their knowledge and understanding of God, however, can only come from you. You are the one God has appointed as teacher, no one else. You are the one responsible for the training and instruction of His children.

Psalm 90:12 - Teach us to number our days aright, that we might gain a heart of wisdom.

A "heart" of wisdom, not a "head" of knowledge.

1 Timothy 1:5 - But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

What is the goal of your instruction? Is it to have a disciple, or a Pharisee?


*In the book The Golden Age of Greece (sorry, I can't find author!) we find out what happened to Socrates and the ones who studied under him. These young men learned "Socratic dialog" so well, that they would argue for the sake of arguing. They would enter a "discussion" with their elders for the sole purpose of making them look stupid and feel foolish. When Socrates was executed, part of their accusations were, "You have turned the hearts of our young men against us!" This may not have been the intention of Socrates (I truly believe he wanted them to question until they understood), but this is definitely what happens with the "puffing up" of knowledge.

Paul, the disciple, was also a Pharisee. His "head" knowledge he considered as garbage compared to his "heart" knowledge. I Corinthians 2:2 he wrote, "I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." Also in verse 4, "and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." [Emphasis mine]

Why did he say this? Verse 5, "so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."

Amen.