Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.      Deuteronomy 6:5-9  HCSB

When I used to review someone’s conditions of probation or parole, I strongly encouraged them to be familiar with each and every condition.  I also encouraged them to post a copy somewhere like their bathroom mirror or the headboard of their bed where they would see these conditions and be reminded of them daily.  I wanted them to understand the importance of following these conditions as their freedom depended on it.  They needed to not only know the rules, but abide by them. Well when you think about it, God’s commandments are just as important for us. If we want to be truly free then we must live as God has commanded.  But, more than that, our lives depend on it.  We can’t spend eternity with our heavenly Father in glory if we don’t obey His commands.  Our children’s lives depend on it as well.

As a child, I was taught to obey the ten commandments.  I was also taught to obey the commands of my mother and father.  My freedom and my livelihood depended on my obedience, as well as my ability to sit without pain. I was also in church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night.  I was taught that going to church was a very important part of our lives.  I learned that a close relationship with Jesus Christ was crucial to my well being.

We have been facing a crisis in this country for sometime now.  It has really hit home in our local school system in the last couple of months.  Two teachers were fired for restraining a girl during a fight.  Of course, someone videoed the entire incident on a cell phone and it went viral.  Now the parents and supporters of this young girl demanded justice for her and the two teachers were fired. I saw the video.  I also heard there was more to the story than the video.  I did not hear the audio, but understand that one of the teachers restraining the girl used some very bad language and made some ominous threats.  I understand that this is not acceptable, but does it warrant firing?  Those that support the teachers speak of the rampant fighting that is taking place on our campuses and the inability of the staff to control the students. There is a lot of finger pointing going on with both sides.

But no one wants to look at the real problem. The school system has been on a steady decline since God was removed from the schools  But God has not yet been removed from the homes, this is for the parents to decide.

Perhaps you have seen this on a bumper sticker or a church sign; Know Jesus, know peace, no Jesus, no peace.  Well I am afraid that the latter is our problem here. In our scripture passage the Israelites are being given the greatest commandment, which if you have been reading my blog you know by heart.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.  They are being instructed to keep these words in their heart and repeat them to their children.  They are being instructed to speak about them continually.  They are being instructed  to write them on their hand and their foreheads as a symbol of their love for the Lord.  They are instructed to post them on their doors and on their gates.

Now, if all parents were raising their children to love the Lord with all their heart, all their soul, and all their strength, I think we would see a lot less fighting in schools.  The teachers in our parish are frustrated because there is no clear policy on how to handle the fights.  Administration is talking about sending teachers for defensive tactics training, seriously?  All these over educated people can’t see the forest for the trees.

So I ask you today, what is important to you?  Is your child getting an education important to you?  Is training your child to love the Lord with all their heart, and all their soul and all their strength important to you?  Know that whatever is important to you will likely be important to your children.  The apple usually doesn’t fall far from the tree.  So if you are a parent, I ask you today to think about what is important to you.  Think about what your children are being taught at home. Know that this is what they will bring out into the world.  If you want the best life possible for your child follow, Proverbs 22:6:  Train your child up in the way they should go knowing that in their old age they won’t depart from it.

And if any of our school officials are reading this, know that arming teachers or teaching them defensive tactics is not the answer.  The problem began in the home and the solution will begin in the home as well.  Oh, and taking Jesus out of our schools, well let me know how this is working out for you?

Have a great day!