An Un-Common Core |

So much has been made recently over “Common Core,” which is designed to bring states under certain standards of education through the public school system. Emotions are high, as everyone has an opinion on nearly every aspect of this system. I have seen nearly countless Facebook and Twitter posts concerning Common Core, mostly attacking the system for various reasons.

Some of you are already thinking, “Here it comes. This is the ‘we should homeschool our children to avoid this kind of stuff’ post.” Nope. While we do homeschool our children, this post has nothing to do with that.

This post has to do with parents providing an un-common core for their children.

Your children need a different kind of “core” than any a school can give. It doesn’t matter where your children go to school, or if they are homeschooled, there is something that simply cannot happen from 8AM-3PM in a classroom setting.

This is not changed if your children are being taught creation or evolution. It is not changed if they are being fed modern views of sexuality or God’s view of purity. It is not changed if they are in Kindergarten or about to graduate from high school. Public, private, parochial, home-, magnet, or any other name can come before “school,” and this will not change.

It is the very core of their being, and only you can really provide it.

So what is it?

It is the inner character that is only built by a father and mother living out the Gospel 24-hours each day before their children.

There really can be no substitute. When a child walks in to his or her home, there should be a picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being lived out in that home. Dad needs to reflect the image of the heavenly Father. He is to love as Christ loved the Church. He is to be sacrificial, loving, kind, warning, disciplining, merciful, gracious, instructive, and true to convictions. In reality, his goal is perfection; and though he will never reach it, he cannot choose to avoid the responsibility.

Mom needs to reflect the glory of the Church. Her submission does not denote some level of inferiority, but of rare grace. She is to be respectful, kind, forgiving, serious, holding to a pattern, and willing to reach out in healing. Again, her goal is perfection. She won’t reach it, but the effort must be maintained.

Think of the “core” that a child gets who sees such an example. The child sees the balance of male and female. There is leadership and submission. There is punishment and forgiveness. There is love and respect. There is tenderness and discipline.

…and there is consistency.

There is the Gospel, built into the life of a young man or young woman. And that young man or young woman will have the character and conviction to face whatever comes his or her way. His or her parents have taken the time to work on the core of the child, and have not spent their time in selfish endeavors or teaching the child to think of the superficial. The Gospel deals with our core being, so we must deal with the core of our children!

Teachers, administrators and coaches do amazing work, and I am truly thankful for them. None of them, though, no matter how good at their job, can fully build that “core” into a child. They certainly can help, but it is not their job to raise my children. Instead, it takes constant attention to the awesome responsibility of raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That, parents, is a responsibility given to us, and to us alone.

Parents, it’s time we accepted that responsibility. You only have a few years until your children are grown. No one else–not Washington, not your state, not the school, and not even the church–can take your place. No one else will have a bigger impact on your children than you will.

If we do our job, our children will not be like the world around them. They will be quite un-common, but at their very core, they will be faithful to the Lord. The real question is: Shouldn’t that be just what we want? Then start focusing on their core being. Teach them to think of their soul first. Teach them morality before money. Teach them the Lord before looks. Teach them faith over fashion. Teach them Scripture over sports. Show them the Savior’s Gospel before self glory.

After all, if we work on their core faith in God, the other matters will take care of themselves.

Will your children be common at the core, or will you raise them to be uncommon? The answer to that question is your responsibility. Let’s raise children with an un-common core.

A Legacy of Faith

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