Out of the Box
One of the verses often repeated in our house is
"Love your neighbor as yourself" In the past I have thought of my neighbor as the guy down the street or the friend at church. The use of this verse in childrearing has made me apply it to my closest neighbors: the folks I'm are most easily tempted to forget to love, my family.
The Heidelberg catechism I learned as a kid comes to mind as I remember the answer, "we are prone to hate both God and our neighbor"
In many ways, neighbor expresses proximity. Who do we live in closer proximity with than our husbands and children? I am most prone to blatantly hate my family! It is much easier to put my best, most generous and loving behavior on for anyone but my family. But to them I get down and dirty and all the masks come off.
So, not only do I instruct my children in this daily, that instruction reminds me to love them. Most of my complaining and grumbling during the day is the result not of my childrens' behavior, but of my reaction to it. I want to love myself, feel sorry for myself, and forget the command to love them as myself.
Life doesn't have to be so complicated or so messy when we bring it down to what Christ says in Matthew 22:
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[d] 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[e] 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
So that is my first application of this passage. The other is simply an answer to all these "socialization" arguments that I hear from friends about homeschooling. I don't care how well my kids get along with other kids! First and foremost, I want them to live in love and service to God and our family. I find it a much more useful and realistic scenario for the rest of their lives. Where better to learn this than at home? If I can teach my children how to serve and love within the family I am not concerned about that translating to others around them. (It helps, of course, that we are not limiting our family to current social norms. Their will be at least four of them to get along together come July)
Parents socialize children, not other children. I don't care how many "friends" my kids have at age 40, as long as my daughters are close to each other. I don't care how many activities they participate in, as long as they are content and thankful in what God gives to them.
Just as an aside, is the youth worship culture of today something you want your children "socialized" to?
Isn't it bizarre to view friendship as one age category?
Anyway, I find the socialization argument a genuinely laughable one, being that I was home schooled for eight years myself. My mom taught me by example to be genuinely interested in and caring of other people, regardless of their age, gender, or color. She also put our family relationships first and for that, and the five brothers and sisters I have, I am truly blessed.
"Love your neighbor as yourself" In the past I have thought of my neighbor as the guy down the street or the friend at church. The use of this verse in childrearing has made me apply it to my closest neighbors: the folks I'm are most easily tempted to forget to love, my family.
The Heidelberg catechism I learned as a kid comes to mind as I remember the answer, "we are prone to hate both God and our neighbor"
In many ways, neighbor expresses proximity. Who do we live in closer proximity with than our husbands and children? I am most prone to blatantly hate my family! It is much easier to put my best, most generous and loving behavior on for anyone but my family. But to them I get down and dirty and all the masks come off.
So, not only do I instruct my children in this daily, that instruction reminds me to love them. Most of my complaining and grumbling during the day is the result not of my childrens' behavior, but of my reaction to it. I want to love myself, feel sorry for myself, and forget the command to love them as myself.
Life doesn't have to be so complicated or so messy when we bring it down to what Christ says in Matthew 22:
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[d] 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[e] 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
So that is my first application of this passage. The other is simply an answer to all these "socialization" arguments that I hear from friends about homeschooling. I don't care how well my kids get along with other kids! First and foremost, I want them to live in love and service to God and our family. I find it a much more useful and realistic scenario for the rest of their lives. Where better to learn this than at home? If I can teach my children how to serve and love within the family I am not concerned about that translating to others around them. (It helps, of course, that we are not limiting our family to current social norms. Their will be at least four of them to get along together come July)
Parents socialize children, not other children. I don't care how many "friends" my kids have at age 40, as long as my daughters are close to each other. I don't care how many activities they participate in, as long as they are content and thankful in what God gives to them.
Just as an aside, is the youth worship culture of today something you want your children "socialized" to?
Isn't it bizarre to view friendship as one age category?
Anyway, I find the socialization argument a genuinely laughable one, being that I was home schooled for eight years myself. My mom taught me by example to be genuinely interested in and caring of other people, regardless of their age, gender, or color. She also put our family relationships first and for that, and the five brothers and sisters I have, I am truly blessed.
posted by Meg at 7:35 PM
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