Matthew 5:13-16  Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-16: "Ye are the salt of the earth but if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden underfoot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick- and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven. "
Far too many Christian parents use the above Scripture to justify Placing their children in a local government school, saying that their children are commissioned to be "salt and light" on the school campus. Or that they lead Bible studies and prayer meetings, that they meet with other Christian youth once a year at the flag pole. For years, Christian parents have told me that they place their tender children in public schools so their children will evangelize other lost youth and teachers.
I would like to challenge this weak use of Scripture. Obviously, Christ has commissioned believers to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28.-19-20). However, in Luke 24:49, Jesus commands the disciples to "tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." Mind you, he is speaking to adults to tarry. It stands to reason that if Christ admonished his own adult disciples, who were with Him night and day for three years, not to go out and evangelize until they received "power from on high," how then is it that parents can send their young inexperienced children to convert the campus? Christ sent out His adult disciples two by two, knowing the dangers and pressures they would face in a hostile environment. In the New Testament, a person studying the texts will never find reference to Christ sending youth out to change the world and evangelize the lost. Believe me, youth between five and eighteen are the mission field. They themselves need to be discipled and built up with the power of God's Word. Even after David the shepherd boy killed Goliath, he returned to shepherding, not a public ministry.
Apart from a very small percentage of cases, the grim reality is that Christian youth are influenced by the unsaved youth and their subculture. I speak from experience, having worked with youth in government schools for more than 24 years. Just look at the facts. Normally it is not the Christian students who are doing the most to promote Christian values among unsaved students; rather, it is the unsaved youth who are doing the most to destroy the morals of the Christian students. Christian boys did not learn to wear earrings from hanging around Godly Christian boys in a Christian church or home school. The weird hairstyles did not come from the Christian home. The taste for wild music and godless movie viewing did not come from Godly parents or pastors. The haughty rebellious "bad attitude" toward adult authority did not come from a Godly environment. It came from the godless government school system. As a former youth pastor, I recall visiting our church youth at the local high school campus on various occasions. Several were actually embarrassed at my presence. After all, what would their peers think if they were seen with a pastor?
For years I have heard Christian parents tell me that their children are going to make the difference in the local school systems, yet how many schools do you know of that are changing their curriculum for a more moral and Godly one because Christian youth have "evangelized" the schools? How many schools have sought to improve their baccalaureates, making them more Christ-centered because of the influence of the Christian youth in the school? How many have cut out pagan Halloween festivities because of the Christian influence? How many schools have returned to the celebration of Hanukkah, and a Christ-centered Christmas? How many schools are reinstating the Ten Commandments on the school walls? How many schools are teaching the youth to pray for their teachers and their nation like the Christian students at the flag pole? The answer is none. Why? Jesus tells us why. "If you are not for me, you are against me" (Matthew 12:30). Wake up! Children should not be in a system opposed to Christ and the Gospel. The current schools are openly hostile to Christ, but tolerant of all other world religions.
If every evangelical Christian family in America that had their children in the state schools across the land decided to protest and say, "Enough is enough!" and seek private Christian or home school education, then the government would be faced with one of two choices: Either force parents by law to enroll their children in the government school (God forbid we succumb to that someday!), or repent and apologize to parents for the lack of foresight on their part, and invite Christians to have complete control of the public schools, as in the early days of our nation. Your cry is, "That would be impossible!" I heartily agree with you. The system has become so intolerant toward Christianity that the Lord must write Ichabod on its doors. * If Christ Himself applied for a teaching position, He would be denied under the false understanding of the "Church-and State-separation issue." Please do not try to defend the godless government school system. There are no Biblical positions to stand on. "Do not cast your pearls [precious children] before swine to be trampled underfoot" (Matthew 7.- 6).

*(Ichabod means "The glory is departed." See I Samuel 4:21)

COMBAT ZONE  

Ephesians 4:32 - 5:7  "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them." (Ephesians 4:43 - 5:7)
What would you think of parents who allowed their children, while vacationing at the beach, to swim in shark infested waters? What if you approached the parents to warn them of the dangers, and pointed out to them that those fins are man-eating sharks, and they retorted, "Oh, it's not that bad. Besides, my child is going to have to face sharks someday, so it may as well be now."
This example is not too far from the truth of the conditions in the current government schools in America. Parents are blindly placing their children in "shark-infested" schools.
The other day, while doing some shopping, I ran into a Christian friend from our local church. After small talk, the home-school mother told me she had placed her thirteen-year old daughter into the "good local neighborhood junior high," because the girl was "scared of public school kids," and she wanted to help her daughter overcome the fear. The mother then proceeded to tell me that within two weeks, the daughter was accosted by three lesbian classmates who wanted to include her as a lover.
The mother brought it to the attention of the principal when the girls were persistent in pursuing the daughter. Additional false accusations spread that her tender, innocent daughter had had an affair with a faculty member. As I walked away, I was grieved that the mother still felt that the public school was the best place for her daughter. What will it take for parents to wake up?
I do not know about your junior high school years. Perhaps you went to a nice junior high school, so to speak. Well, I certainly did not. I spent the entire three years fighting for my rights to my lunch and well-being. Today I suffer the ill effects of a broken nose from fist fighting my way through those three years. It was in junior high that I was introduced to pornography, profanity, drugs, and sex. Why would parents in their right minds want to expose their child to such corruption at such an early age, in light of Ephesians 4:32-5:7?
You may say that it is not that bad in the particular school in which you plan to place your children. My challenge to parents is to go to the school for a few days, with spiritual eyes open, and observe the attitude of the students and teachers. I believe that you will change your mind after that experience.
The Biblical goal of parents should be to keep their children tender and innocent to evil, and prepared for the Lord. The government schools in some communities are so dangerous that many schools throughout the land where Christian children attend have to have metal detectors to help confiscate dangerous weapons. The local public school is certainly not a place for right-minded Christian parents to place their beloved children unless they do not care that they become tough and hardened in order to survive.
I found a good test to see how tender children are toward their parents. Walk around the campus and hold your teen's hand, or kiss him or her on the cheek as he or she is dropped off for school. I have found that the majority of Christian youth will shun the parent in embarrassment.
Our pre-teen son, and our teen and young adult daughters welcome our attention and associate with peers and adults alike. They are not embarrassed to be around us, and are not pressured to think like most peer-oriented youth that parents are "nerds." Could you imagine Christ being embarrassed of Mary and Joseph at the age of twelve when they found Him in the Temple among the Jewish leaders?
What makes tender children into hardened rebels is the constant barrage of godless peer conformity. It is "survival of the fittest." Look at the "Infested waters" of current government schools' combat zones:

1. One in five American high school students regularly smoke marijuana. Fifteen percent of teenagers have tried cocaine.
2. Teenage sex has produced 250,000 illegitimate births annually and countless abortions. There is an epidemic of venereal disease. Six out of ten 16 to 18-year-olds say they have had sexual intercourse. In the 13 to 15year age group, the number is I out of 3.
3. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among teenagers. Of the young people who committed suicide in 1996, 4,000 were 15-19 years of age, and 550 were 14 or under.
4. In one major, well-known city, 19% of the teaching staff of 3,000 live in fear of student attacks. Ten percent of the teachers have been attacked, and this fear shapes their reluctance to deal with problems that arise in the classroom.

One Christian high school teacher of a supposedly small community "safe" school district told me on various occasions she witnessed teens necking in class and engaging in other deeds too vile to mention here. She said she would not report them for fear she would lose her job, or be assaulted by the students. Teachers have reported that 40% of the students have been assaulted by other students. Is it any wonder that the many government school teachers do not have their own children in a government school?
Parents may respond, "My school district is not that bad, because we live in a small community." Parents, I pastored in a small community, and no community is spared moral decadence.