Why Should Parents Homeschool Their Children?
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward (Psalm127:3).

God gave parents the priority of educating their children at home (Deut.  6:6-7).  This shows us that parents should be the main teachers of their children.  A child’s conduct will bring the parents either honor (Exod.  20:12) or dishonor (Deut.  21:18-20).  Every command given in the Bible with regard to education and the rearing of children is directed toward the parents of children.  Paul tells us that parents should raise their children in the training and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4 NIV).

Romans 12:2 tells us that we should not be conformed to this world but rather be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Since we are transformed as our minds are renewed, it is clear that our thinking is what needs to change.  This is true for children also, and home schooling gives parents the opportunity to be the major influence in deciding how their children think.  This verse also warns us that we should not be conformed to this world.  That is, we should not seek the ways of the world.  This also serves as a reminder to parents that the world has taken away our privilege and responsibility of educating our own children.  For this reason, parents themselves need to renew their own thinking and understand the great importance of regaining this privilege given to them directly by God.  Nowhere in the Bible did God give the responsibility of educating our children to the secular government or to the church.  Neither option is His perfect will, and therefore neither will give our children God’s best.

In Psalm 31, we read that God determines the characteristics of each one of our children from the time they are in the womb.  This does not only refer to the physical characteristics, but refers also to their personality and temperament.  Although there is some genetic influence, parents do not determine these characteristics.  Children are a direct result of God’s creative handiwork.  Initially, decorative candles are all made in one basic shape; later, more and more layers of hot wax are added to give them a specific style, shape and beauty.  In the same way, God has given parents the job of pouring layer upon layer of understanding and knowledge over their children.  If parents choose to hand this responsibility over to someone else, they are evading one of their most important responsibilities, and they will have had very little to do with the final product!

Children are created by God in a pre-determined fashion (their character, intelligence, temperament and gifts), but parents can have a positive influence in their development by leading them in the right direction.  They can also have a negative influence on their children if they voluntarily or involuntarily choose to lead them in the wrong direction.  Even before a child is born, God determines his ultimate purpose for each child.  However, the education each child receives will determine whether or not the child will be molded in such a way that he or she reaches that divine goal.  Just as the candle maker has very little time to mold and shape a candle into the preordained design, parents also have very little time to mold their children into the design God has for them.  Just as hot wax hardens quickly, so the time God gives us to teach our children passes quickly.  There comes a moment when the candle can no longer be molded without damaging its final shape.  In the same way, there comes a time when parents can no longer mold the hearts of their children.  This is why it is so important for parents to see the urgency of educating and guiding their children – because they do not have much time to mold them.  What a joy if they are molded properly, and what a grief for parents and children alike if they are not!