There are things happening in this world making our job as Christian parents harder and harder to do well. People thumbing their noses at God by passing laws that go against His commands and purpose for creation is one thing. NOW though, well now these people who think God and His laws are a big joke are taking their disdain for His directives and bringing them to our schools so that our children will start to believe, or rather, NOT believe just like them. There have been a few stories in the past week that have come to my attention that leave me extremely worried about our future in this nation.
The first story is about a school district in Seattle, Washington. This school district is allowing students as young as 13-years-old to consent to having an IUD implanted for the purposes of birth control WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT. What? What? Since when were 13-year-old children able to make a decision like that on their own? Since when did parents lose control over the healthcare decisions of their children? As a Christian parent this involves so much more than just a healthcare decision to me, but at the very least, someone who doesn't believe as I do can see that this is a big decision to make without our input or even KNOWLEDGE as parents. You can find the story I read here: IUD's in children.
Oh come on, I am not naive enough to think that some children aren't having sex at that age, but that is beside the point. The point is, we are responsible for raising our children and helping them to make decisions that are not only in their best interest, but that fall in line with the values we are trying to instill in them. This is crazy! And before you go and tell me that this is a biased story that skews the truth I'm one step ahead of you. I searched many sites to see if this was a bit exaggerated and wasn't able to find anything to assuage my outrage. As a matter of fact, when I landed on Snopes I learned something else I didn't know. Snopes was quick to point out that some of the "facts" in the story may not be quite so factual- as in, "IUD's... can act as an abortifacient by preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg", which is debatable but again not the point. The point of the story- that this can happen without parental knowledge- is totally true. Additionally, Snopes pointed out that 26 states and the District of Columbia allow minors (12 and over) to consent to contraceptive services without parental knowledge or consent. Unreal.
The second story has to do with teaching our children about gay marriage as well as oral and anal sex in school. Much of this curriculum may be structured in such a way that parents cannot chose to opt their children out if this does not fit the values that those parents are trying to instill. Here is a video that talks about this: new curriculum for the times. Again, whether this is actually happening yet or not is BESIDE THE POINT! Why are these things even being considered?!?!
Now, for those of you who feel that including same-sex couples in curriculum about marriage, or that somehow discussions about being transgendered and gender non-conforming identity is a positive and long overdue step in our schools, LISTEN UP. God is VERY VERY clear about these things being against Him and his intent for us. If my children are going to be exposed to a conversation about these things it will be on MY terms with MY Christian faith as the basis for those discussions, and NOT under any circumstances by someone who does not share my faith or belief in God. Period. This isn't math, people! This stuff is changing the very fabric of our society and moving it away from what God intended, and as a Christian my children will not be taught that this is OK because with God is it absolutely not OK. I realize I will be very unpopular and likely vilified because of these statements, but what popular culture dictates or what man thinks of me holds no sway over what God commands of me.
"If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to
His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also
the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. If you will
not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD,
then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers. “ 1 Samuel 12:14-15
"Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear
the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been
removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." Numbers
14:9
"The fear of man lays a snare; but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe." Proverbs 29:25
"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10
Look, I love you, I really do. I believe that God calls Christians to love EVERYONE. Judging a person's behavior and choices is God's job, not mine. Mine is to reflect the love and grace that God gave me with the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ through my interactions with the world. My purpose is to praise His name and share the Gospel with everyone in the hopes those who don't believe will have an opportunity to reconsider and be saved. This is not a commentary on how you choose to live YOUR life.
That said, I will not allow anyone to teach my child in a setting that is supposed to be educational about something that is not based in facts according to God's truth. When a child learns something in school, that child believes what he or she learned is the truth. It is fact. It can be trusted, otherwise why would the school, a place we willingly send him or her, teach it? A child does not have the ability to discern the way an adult does. When we decide to change or spin the "facts" to fit an agenda, we are harming our children tremendously.
At the end of the day, even if you are A-OK with all this because it falls in line with your personal beliefs on the matters of gay marriage and gender confusion, I have to ask you a question. Why in the world are you OK with our children being taught things or exposed to things without parental consent? You may be OK with this stuff because it falls in line with your beliefs, but what about when something doesn't fall in line with your beliefs?
If you aren't a Believer then you probably aren't OK with God "stuff" being taught to you children, right? Well, what if positions were reversed and you were being told that schools will start teaching the Bible and you couldn't do anything about it. You'd be mighty pissed, right? Oh, wait.... you already won that battle and the Bible can't be taught in public schools. Heck, you won that battle so handily that we can't even say Merry Christmas in schools anymore. So you must understand what I'm saying. Parents should be allowed to raise their children based on their values and beliefs. ALL parents, even ones that disagree with you. As long as those beliefs don't involve teaching children to hurt others, themselves, or commit crimes, then it should be up to the parents. Why, then, is this OK with some people? I just don't understand, and it's things like this that have me so worried about the future of our nation. Just watch, it will start here, but once the government is given such mighty power over us, it will turn on even those who are in support of all this power.
Don't give up our rights as parents to raise our children, even if that means some parents will raise their children differently than you will.
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