The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his066/icr23.arj/ICR23.TXT

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CHILDREN AND  CREATION

                 by Ken Ham

Before we attempt to train our children,
we need to understand their nature.
This will help us determine the right
methods which should be employed
to train them-whether at home or at
school.

     The God who is revealed through
His Word in Scripture knows even
our very thoughts, He is the One who
has complete understanding of
human nature.  It is only on the basis
of what He tells us that we are truly
able to determine how best to train
our children and how they can achieve
their greatest potential for them-
selves, for our society, and for the
Lord.

     Many child psychologists teach
that children are basically good, but
the Bible teaches otherwise.  Psalm
51:5 states, "Behold, I was shapen in
iniquity, and in sin did my mother
conceive me." In Proverbs 22:15, we
read: 'Foolishness is bound in,,the
heart of a child; but the rod of correc-
tion shall drive it far from him." And
in Proverbs 29:15 we read that "the
rod and reproof give wisdom: But a
child left to himself bringeth his
mother to shame."

Children are a precious '.'heritage -
of the LORD" (Psalm 127:3), and are a
great blessing in a Christian home (i
have five of theml).  Nevertheless,
children, like adults, must be viewed,
first of all, as sinful creatures (Romans
3:23).  Because of the sin hature in-
herent In all manklnd received from
Adam, we are more likely to be in-
f I uenced by the bad than by the good.
It Is easy to let children do that which
is wrong-just leave them to them-
selves, and they will express their true,
sinful natures.  This means that to en-
courage children to be "good" (obe-
dient to parents, to God, etc.), parents
and teachers must work together to
stem their inherent penchant toward
rebelliousness and self-will.

     Many people do not understand the
full implications of Proverbs 22:6:
"Train up a child in the way he should
go: and when he is old, he will not de-
part from it." Training involves more
than just teaching.  The Hebrew word
is usually translated "dedicate," im-
plying a very straight and single-
minded commitment to a definite goal.

    Similarly, we are to train children
in the true way, spirituallyand morally,
giving no options.  For a Christian,
it is not that truth is the best policy,
as if it were an option; truth is the
only policy.  Children who are merely
taught can hear other teaching and
easily depart from the truth because
of their sinful natures and their bias
against God, as expressed in that
nature.  Thus, to cause children to be
influenced for good, much work must
be done.  It will even involve Biblical
principles of discipline-even chasten-
ing, when necessary.  The Bible some-
times mentions "the rod" (Proverbs
13:24; 19:18; 29:17, etc.). In other
words, we must work diligently to
train them in truth, condemning error
for what it is.  Any parent knows that
when a restraining influence is taken
from children, it doesn't take long for
them to start doing things which are
not right, thus expressing their sinful
natures.  The Hebrew word for "rod"
can, in context, mean what we might
call a stick, or switch, or paddle.  When
necessary to use such a "rod," of
course, the child must not be phys-
ically injured, or punished unjustly.
The purpose is loving correction, not
parental bullying.

     God applies these same principles
to us, His adult "children." Hebrews
1 2:5-1 1 states: "And ye have forgotten
the exhortation which speaketh unto
you as unto children, My son, despise
not thou the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when thou are rebuked of
him: For whom the Lord loveth He
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son
whom He receiveth.  If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you,as
with sons; for what son is he whom the
father chasteneth not? But if ye be
without chastisement, whereof all are
partakers, then are ye bastards, and
not sons.  Furthermore we have had
fathers of our flesh which corrected
us, and we gave them reverence: Shall
we not much rather be in subjection
unto the Father of spirits, and live? For
they verily for a few days chastened
us after their own pleasure; but He for
our profit, that we might be partakers
of His holiness.  Now no chastening
for the present seemeth to be joyous,
but grievous: Nevertheless afterward
it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of right-
eousness unto them which are exer-
cised thereby."

     God's chastening is a restraining
influence, in order that we might con-
form to that which is good.  As God
chastens us, so earthly fathers are to
disciplineand train theirownchildren.
Especially when children start school,
they are more likely to be led astray by
others, rather than to influence their
peers toward that which is right.  "Be
not deceived: Evil communications
corrupt good manners" (i Corin-
thians 15:33).  This literally means that
"bad company corrupts good charac-
ter." In other words, the principle
which we see expressed around us
(and also observe in Scripture) Is that
the bad is more likely to influence the
good, than the good to influence the
bad, because of our sinful, human,
Adamic natures.

     Consider the example of Lot, He
first pitched his tent toward Sodom
before moving into the city, and soon
was to be found sitting at the gates
with the city's wicked leaders.  When
thetime cameforjudgmentofthecity,
Lot's sons-in-law did not believe him.
His family had not Influenced the
others for good; they had been in-
fluenced for ill.  Even though Lot,
himself, was seemingly unaffected by
the evil around him, the rest of his
family was greatly Influenced.  "Re-
member Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32).

     Whether in public schools, Christian
schools, or home schools, parents
must be aware ' of the influence teachers
and other students have on their
children.  Non-Christian teachers,
without Christian convictions, certainly
cannot train their students in Chris-
tian truth.  As these children are trained
with an anti-God, evolutionary frame-
work, sinful temptations are intro-
duced, and, because of their children's
inherent tendencies toward evil and
away from God, parents must be even
more diligent at home, to refute these
influences.

     Children are not miniature adults,
and while they are children, we must
be very careful to employ the methods
of Biblical teaching concerning their
training.  While they are still children,
we must be extremely diligent that we
educate them in the truth, leaving
them no option.  Only as they mature
will they be able to influence others
in the same way.  "But strong meat
belongeth to them that are of full age,
even those who by reason of use have
their senses exercised to discern both
good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).

     It is vitally important to understand
that the family is the first and most
fundamental of all human institutions
founded in Scripture, and that the
family has its foundation in the literal
events of the book of Genesis.  This
fundamental institution-the family-
is the educational unit that God uses
to transmit His knowledge from one
generation to the next, and thus to the
world.  Satan knows that if he can
destroy the family, he will succeed
in destroying the nation, because the
family is the backbone of the nation.
Sadly, he is accomplishing this in
great strides today, because most
parents are not training their children
in the truths of Scripture.

     We need to return to Scripture, to
return to the family, and to return to
the truths and principles laid down in
the Bible, beginning with the founda-
tional book of Genesis.