Pep Rally
Rise and Shine for Jesus!
Pep Rally
By Pam
Iannello
(my late mother)
Here
we are again, facing another new school year! Those of you with school age
children have made certain material preparations in anticipation of the coming
year. Books, paper, pencils, pens, glue
etc. have all been purchased and set aside for use. Even so, is this all the
groundwork that is necessary for a successful school year? Does this mean that everyone is prepared
simply by purchasing a list of school supplies?
While
growing up I attended public school and remember well the annual pep rally that
was held in our gymnasium. This event was hosted by all the faculty the very first
week of school. Such a rally was held in
hopes of priming the students for the coming year. The obvious concern of those teachers and
even the concern home schooling mothers have for their children today is
whether or not the child’s mind is geared up for the work ahead, as well as the
minds of the educators! What sort of
inner preparation should occur before our children are set to learn? What would you say is the best environment
for those who are going to teach?
Today
we will look at Paul’s instructions to Titus concerning the things that he
should address so that a proper environment for personal growth could emerge. If
what Paul told Titus should be the attitude of citizens outside of their homes, then it should first be an attitude found inside
our homes! Let’s review what program of study Paul endorsed…
Titus 3:1 (KJV)
Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and
powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work.
TO BE SUBJECT
Paul
said here, “Put them in mind” - meaning, “teach” or set them straight in
attitude. As a governess, so to speak, you are putting certain things into the
mind of your student/students. First on Paul's list of things to make clear is the
need to be subject to principalities and powers. Respect for authority is essential if any learning is to be done!
Without a ready heart, individuals are void of a teachable spirit and lack
humility of mind. If you are a mother
who has chosen to educate your offspring at home, you better put your children
in mind of WHO the authority is as you commence the school year! It is the adults, not the children!
YOU call the shots, not them! If your children do not respect you as their
authority, home education will be very difficult for all of you. Before I ever
opened the books and started reading, writing, or arithmetic, I would be sure
my children understood just who’s going to be the boss. Otherwise you'll be begging little Johnny and
Suzy to do their work all year and you'll stoop to make deals with them just to
get their assignments done! Do your
children need a little “pep rally” to remind them of WHO the authority is in your home?
Ephesians 6:1-2 (KJV)
Children, obey your parents in the
Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the
first commandment with promise...
Parental
obedience is a command to children that God expects parents to strictly
enforce. Have you been negligent of this
duty, dear mother? If so, then this pep rally is also for you! Because our
church is known as one that supports home education, a lot of home schooling
families visit us to see what we are all about.
This has afforded me the opportunity to observe the general condition of
various homes. I must confess that in numerous cases there are children that
have not yet learned to be in subjection to their parents. It seems that
shaping minds has taken precedence over shaping hearts while knowledge is
emphasized more than attitude! Ladies,
God says we are not just to instruct the mind but the heart too, with wisdom
from the Word of God! 1 Cor. 3:11
states, “For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
Leave this out and you will neglect a balanced education! Are
your children smarter than they are sweet??
Are they truly wise, or just smart-mouthed?? There is a big difference between the two and
it's quite evident. First teach your children to be subject to authority so you
can create the proper atmosphere for instruction, laying the right foundation
for a successful school year!
Psalm 34:11 (KJV)
Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I
will teach you the fear of the Lord.
By
way of our church, I have also observed among certain home educating families
that where there are problems with stubborn and resistant children there are often
stubborn and resistant adults in the home as well! Perhaps this is why some children have not
yet mastered respect for their mother's authority, becoming argumentative and
uncooperative with her as their educational supervisor. Dear wife, how do you
suppose you are going to instruct your children at home, expecting and enforcing
them to submit to your authority, if you are unwilling to subject yourself to
their father's authority, your husband?
How fit for learning do you think the environment would be at other
schools if faculty members bucked the principal and the school board's
authority? No doubt if the students
caught wind of such an attitude among their superiors they would be inclined to
adopt the same perspective and their behavior would follow suit. No matter who we are, we must honor
those that have the rule over us… Submission starts at the top and its attitude
makes its way down the ranks. Let’s make
sure everyone begins the school year with proper respect for authority!
TO OBEY
As
we return to our main text, we find that next on Paul's syllabus that he
exhorts Titus to teach is obedience.
Once subjection to authority is rooted in the heart, obedience should
follow. The two go hand in hand. With
your husband as the primary authority in the home, you can carry out your role
of home educating your children, having them follow your leadership with an
attitude of obedience. Ladies, that
means that when you ask your kiddies to do a certain assignment or project etc.
they should cooperate and comply with your wishes, minus the resistance
- and might I add, minus the verbal vomit! Obedience must be
wholehearted, not half hearted - otherwise it is disobedience.
Are
you teaching your children wholehearted obedience as Paul encouraged Titus to
teach? As citizens in society, we may
not always agree with those in authority over us or respect their person.
However, God requires us to submit to our authorities unless they are asking us
to go against scripture to obey them. This
keeps the atmosphere of society one in which we can dwell safely and amiably,
with respect and regard to the authorities God has placed over us. Obedience brings order to the community and
the nation at large. Likewise, order is
brought into homes where obedience prevails.
When our children willingly obey the “law of the land” there is peace
and unity in the home and much is accomplished as a result. Are your children responding properly to your
say-so, dear mother? If not, you've got
your first lesson plan before you!
TO BE READY TO EVERY GOOD WORK
Only
when your children know who the authority is and when they respond in willing
obedience to that authority will they be ready for the next part our main text
brings to light today and that is, being ready to every good work! Yes, sweet cooperation is possible once the
proper foundation has been laid. Ladies, a successful school year requires more
than pens and pencils, paper and glue... Apart from submission and
obedience you won’t have a supportive following. (So it is between you and
your husband!) If you want your children to fall in line with your educational
schedule and curriculum choices, then put them in remembrance of subjection and
obedience first! Not surprisingly, most of those who have grown up in a
standardless society strongly resist any sort of controlled behavior; they are
unwilling to comply with any rule but their own. Countless classrooms across America are
filled with students whose hearts are hardened toward authority in general. Do
you want the seats in your home taken up with unreasonable, unteachable pupils?
Cease not to teach Jesus and you will have students zealous in their work. If
we follow God's daily lesson plans, everyone is guaranteed a profitable school
year and lives that will bring glory to Him!
Acts 5:42
And daily in the temple, and in every
house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah
60:1&2
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