Like many Americans, I’ve been concerned for a long time about the status of “higher education” in our country. What we’ve been seeing and hearing recently from those institutions purporting to educate our future leaders is deeply disturbing. The elites of academia entrusted to educate our children have molded multitudes of them into radicalized, costumed pawns. They are the product of abject historical and cultural ignorance and a systematic infusion of  Marxist philosophy. Their vaunted, tenured professors have taught them that vandalism and anarchy under the guise of “activism” is heroic. But my objective today is not simply to add my voice to the many others who are both grieved and outraged by these events. Instead, I’d like to use this small and limited space to explore with you some things God might want us to do to counteract this growing tide of evil threatening the future of our nation. 

A High Priority Subject ~
We should begin by acknowledging that the God who created us has made it abundantly clear that He considers education to be an issue of utmost importance. Through His spokesman Moses, God made a foundational declaration about education, and He couldn’t have been more direct about who the primary teachers should be, who was to be taught, and what they were to learn.  He said:

“Hear, O Israel [“Children of Israel”, including those of us by faith]: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You [all of you] shall teach them [all of them] diligently [explicitly] to your children [all of them], and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NKJV)

This proclamation has been available to every generation, including my own, for thousands of years, and the directive isn’t hard to understand. The preachers and teachers in my lifetime were certainly aware of it, but somehow its relevance and priority in our daily lives seemed to fade. Gradually, we apparently adopted the notion that things had changed a lot since that command was written, which led to treating this foundational directive as though it was a little outdated and not all that suitable for modern folks like us. After all, we couldn’t find Bible verses anywhere that dealt with things like molecular biology, jet propulsion, avionics, advanced calculus, wireless communication, and lots of other amazing “scientific” stuff that God probably hadn’t thought about. Thus, we gave ourselves permission to get our guidance from more up-to-date sources.  

Spiraling Downward ~
It grieves me to know that my generation witnessed, and in many ways allowed and facilitated, a drift away from the Bible’s place in our national consciousness that has had devastating consequences. General familiarity with the Bible’s contents has declined dramatically and a corresponding disintegration of its authority has declined along with it. In my lifetime, prayer and references to God and/or His Words have been officially expelled from virtually all our government-supported schools. The chaos we’ve been subjected to for years provides graphic affirmations that when God and His Word are denied, there is no depth to which human depravity will not sink. 

We shouldn’t be surprised, then, that instead of getting a “higher” education, the outcome for students these days is more likely to be a headlong dive in the opposite direction. Instead of challenging the minds of our kids in ways that lift them up, they’re fed concepts that are rationally implausible, morally degrading, emotionally destabilizing, and spiritually vacuous. Toxic philosophies and worldviews are woven into nearly every college curriculum these days, and if all seem to have hellish origins, there’s a reason for that. Paul warned over two millennia ago that teachers spewing demonic ideas and concepts would be coming our way. That warning was prophetic when Paul wrote it, but its fulfillment is a current reality in our country today: 

 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:1–2 NKJV)

Overwhelmed but not Helpless ~
Our approach to education cries out for some kind of corrective intervention, but ordinary people like us are generally left feeling overwhelmed and helpless. But God’s people are never helpless unless and until they start looking elsewhere for the resources they need. And not surprisingly, when we turn to Him for solutions to complex problems, it often leads us to the discovery that the solution, or at least some important aspect of it, begins with us. So, if we’re going to address problems with education nationally, maybe we should begin by checking the status of our role as students and followers of the greatest Rabbi ever to walk the earth.

The idea that our time as a student is officially over when we leave the trappings of  formal education behind is an insidious and debilitating lie. Our “education” in this world isn’t finished until either our brain stops working (which evidently happens to some people when they’re elected to political office) or when we breathe our last breath. The other encouraging truth is that the God who formed us is a committed teacher. He never stops instructing, directing, building, refining, improving, and preparing His beloved image bearers to represent Him. His goal from the beginning has been our perfection and His work toward that goal in this world begins at conception and doesn’t stop until we leave here. 

Teachers in Training ~
Another reality we need to embrace is that a corollary objective of discipleship is to train and equip followers to be teachers. Following Jesus is a call to a lifetime of learning from Him but His objective is not just to make us bloated repositories of spiritual data. We are to be active, purposeful, and continuous disseminators of everything we’ve been taught. On any level, the moment we stop striving to learn, things begin to change. Growth in that area stops. Curiosity is desensitized. Understanding atrophies. Excitement wanes. Vision fades. Laziness and complacency bleed off energy and destructive patterns begin to emerge. The Apostle Paul asked a relevant and provocative question of those who considered themselves educated and whose role was to teach others. 

You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? (Romans 2:21–22 NKJV)

Granted, you and I don’t have the same role as those hypocritical teachers Paul was addressing, but the challenging question is applicable to us as well. It’s easy to sit back and criticize a corrupt academic system, but we’d better scrutinize our own role as students and teachers as well. God considers all of us as full-time faculty in His system of “higher” education, so in consideration of that divine appointment, let me conclude this session with a few additional questions:

• • Has learning more from our Teacher become more of a chore than a stimulating daily adventure? 
  • Are we content to live as stagnant spiritual reservoirs rather than as refreshing, life-giving fountains? 
  • Are we willing to “learn” on more than one level and to creatively apply that knowledge in more than one context?
  • Are we prone to regurgitate excuses rather than ask the Holy Spirit for some special One-on-one teaching sessions?  
  • Whether we realize it or not, others are constantly watching us and learning from us. Is what we’re teaching them urging them upward or in another direction?

Undoubtedly, there’s more to say about this issue in upcoming posts, but for now, consider this … Revamping a broken education system in America might begin by reviving our own relationship with the One who can teach us everything we need to know.

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • Prayer and references to God and His Word – both officially expelled from virtually all our gov’t supported schools. The chaos we’ve been subjected to is graphic affirmation that when denied, there’s no depth to which human depravity won’t sink. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
  • “Instead of challenging the minds of our kids through ways in “higher education” that lift them up, they’re fed concepts that are rationally implausible, morally degrading, emotionally destabilizing, and spiritually vacuous.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
  • “Toxic philosophies and worldviews are woven into nearly every college curriculum. There’s a reason they all seem to have hellish origins. Paul warned over two millennia ago that teachers spewing demonic ideas and concepts would be coming our way.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • “The God who formed us is a committed teacher. He never stops instructing, directing, building, refining, improving, and preparing His beloved image bearers to represent Him. His goal from the beginning has been our perfection.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  

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