Principal Points: Using the Internet

In a world that is becoming crazier by the day, how does one watch over and protect one’s children? When can we ever say that we have done enough in this regard? After all, when a gunman kills a group of Amish school girls, then we know that we have moved into a culture that is beyond irrational; it’s just plain bizarre. How then can we guard our children against the bizarre?

As a school, we face this issue when we practice a Lock-Down Drill. This is practice for what to do in the event of something really bad happening: a tornado, a toxic gas leak, or a dangerous intruder. The reality is that a tornado will destroy anything in its path. Hunkering down in a cloak room won’t do any good against a direct hit. It will help if it passes within 50 feet or so, but if it was any further away, we would hardly notice. A tornado can destroy one side of a street and leave the other virtually unscathed. Protecting ourselves against a toxic gas leak or determined intruder is equally problematic. In short, there is no protection against the bizarre event other than the Lord.

We must therefore remember that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. Satan’s power is limited, and God has set boundaries for what he can do. Jesus promised us tribulation in this lifetime, but He promised that He would be with us through it all. We delude ourselves if we think that God will protect us from all hardship, but we are also deceived if we feel that we must go through anything alone. He is both able to protect us from hurt and walk with us through hurtful events. This is the most important truth that we need to know and to convey to our children.

The second thing we need to do is provide all reasonable protection from those dangers which we can foresee. Some issues are obvious. Every parent knows that we must provide food, clothing, and shelter for our children. Anything less is considered neglect. But many dangers are not so easy to spot. What about spiritual and moral dangers? These are much more subtle, but they are insidious and can destroy our children in ways that are just as significant as harm to life and limb.

Spiritual dangers come in two forms: neglecting the positive, or exposure to the negative. Deuteronomy 6 makes clear that we are to teach our children the Word of God when we wake up in the morning, sit down to eat, travel to school or work or go to bed at night; in short day in and day out. God’s truths should be readily shared with our children whenever and wherever it applies.

For the same reason, every family should find a church that supports that same teaching. This means that the pastor believes that the Bible is a true and reliable guide for living today. Too many churches pay lip service to the importance of the Bible by either ignoring or distorting its teachings to “fit the culture.”

And, of course, it is no good to provide a good home and good church if we then neglect our children’s spiritual growth through the bulk of their waking hours at school. A Christian school that supports the work of the home and the church is necessary to ensure that children are hearing and seeing the truth lived out day by day.

Providing these basic supports for our children will, by and large, ensure that they grow up happy and healthy. However, there is one more thing we must also do. We must alert ourselves to every effort of the enemy to insert himself into the midst of these otherwise wholesome places. Homes, churches, and schools all are targets for the enemy. He tries to sow division in our churches. He oozes into our homes through the internet and television. He brings lies and hurt through classmates at school. No area of life is immune to his efforts.

To protect our children in these areas means that we must be good “students” at church, listening carefully for the truth to be taught and seeking ways to encourage and build one another up. At home, we must monitor what our children watch on TV, where they surf on the computer, and the friends they choose. At school we must be on the watch for humanistic concepts being taught through the textbooks and the values of classmates.

This last point is worth developing. AKCS has an admission policy that is a bit like church membership (as opposed to church attendance.) That policy means parents can expect that most families will share most of their values. However, it doesn’t mean all families share all of their values, nor does it mean that every parent is as diligent in enforcing standards. It is sad but true that there have been some incidents over the years where our students have become involved in inappropriate behavior at a classmate’s home. It therefore behooves us all to evaluate our children’s friends carefully whether they are from church or school to satisfy ourselves that our standards will be supported. And then pray.

Brian Hazeltine, B.Ed., M.A.
Principal, Airdrie Koinonia Christian School