ADVENT DAY 19 (I Have Been Given the Armor of God): Power to the Parents

God has established an authority structure in the home, and He delights as families function according to His will. Parents have been given a distinct and critical role, as we see in Deuteronomy chapter 6:
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

We can see how we function at home, at church, in the workplace, in society, is predicated on our loving God - will all that we are, with our entire being. The enemy would attempt to bring us down, and we have to make sure we resist His schemes and continue to grow closer to Christ.  We can be diligent to protect what has been entrusted to us and to clothe ourselves day by day with presence and the "full armor" that He has provided.

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We have reached Day 19 of our 25-day spiritual "Advent-ure," using the Faith Radio Advent Guide to help us consider the significance of what Jesus, by virtue of His coming to earth, and His death and resurrection, has done for us. We have so many spiritual resources available to us, and in Ephesians chapter 6, we see that we have protective armor that can be helpful to us in the challenges of this life; Paul write:
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

There is a cultural battle that is occurring in the area of parental rights.  We hear unfortunate accounts of school districts who have officials who are keeping secrets about the children from the ones who most need to know - the parents - and teachers are being asked to compromise their values in order to further this conspiracy of silence.

One such flashpoint occurred about a month ago in Anderson County, Kentucky. The Family Foundation in Kentucky reported on its website about a school board meeting attended by "hundreds of people:"

At the meeting, Brad Briscoe, who is the father of a teenage girl at Anderson County High School, spoke about his family’s experience in which his daughter had an inappropriate relationship with a high school employee.

According to Briscoe, a school counselor developed an inappropriate relationship with his daughter, attempted to ruthlessly manipulate the situation, and ultimately attempted to remove his daughter from his family’s home on the basis of accused “emotional abuse.” Briscoe shared that these attacks have come because of his and his wife’s desire to raise their family under the Biblical principles for human sexuality.

The article goes on to say:

On November 5, 2023, Brad Briscoe spoke to a church courageously telling his family’s testimony on this issue. In a nutshell, Briscoe stated that the school counselor viciously undermined their parental rights by attempting to lead their confused daughter away from Biblical teachings on human sexuality, regardless of their desire to lead their family to live faithfully in alignment with the teachings of the Scriptures.

Apparently, the matter is still under investigation. 

But, this notion of keeping secrets from parents about their students' struggles in the area of sexuality is not confined to this Kentucky county.  I have covered the changes that various school districts in California have made.  Jeff Johnston of Focus on the Family, in a Daily Citizen article, noted in September:

Six California school districts are pushing back against California Department of Education guidelines that encourage schools to hide information about children struggling with sexual identity confusion from their parents.

Fighting that state agenda, each district has passed Parent Notification Policies that require school staff to inform parents if a child says he or she wants to identify as the opposite sex or as a different so-called “gender.” The state’s attorney general has opposed notifying parents and has already filed a lawsuit against one of the school districts.

Johnston also noted:

Those defending the initiative also pointed to lawsuits against school districts that hid information from parents. In one instance, Spreckels Union School District, in Monterey, California, was forced to pay a $100,000 settlement to a mother for socially transitioning her 11-year-old daughter without the mother’s knowledge or consent.

In a second, horrific incident, Appomattox County High School, in Virginia, allegedly did not tell a mother about her ninth-grade daughter’s struggles with very serious mental health issues, transgender identity concerns and bullying at school. The girl ran away, was kidnapped, drugged, raped and sex trafficked. The mother has filed a lawsuit against the school board and district staff for hiding important concerns from her.

In June, The Washington Stand reported:

...21 state attorneys general filed a joint amicus brief in support of two Florida parents who are suing their daughter’s middle school for engaging in private talks with the then 13-year-old about her gender identity without her parents’ knowledge or consent.

The lawsuit filed by January and Jeffrey Littlejohn alleges that school officials at Deerlake Middle School in Tallahassee implemented a “transgender support plan” after their daughter questioned her gender at school without informing them. When January Littlejohn found out about the situation and confronted the school, she was “told by the school guidance councilor [sic] and vice-principal that they could not disclose what had been talked about in the meeting, and that Littlejohn’s daughter needed to give consent by-law for her parents to be informed about or be present for future discussions.”

These cases show us how you have individuals who are committed to furthering a particular narrative and leaving parents out of the loop.  It's a blatant disregard for the Biblical responsibility that has been placed upon parents.  And, yes, it does seem as if there are people in authority who regard themselves as more capable of raising kids than the parents - it's about power and control for those who have been entrusted with authority.

But, we have to also recognize the importance of parents taking hold of the responsibility that God has given to them. Irresponsible parents have a notable impact on the next generation. Why was there a generation mentioned in the book of Judges in which "everyone did what was right in his own eyes?"  We have to evaluate the role of parents in some of the societal ills that we see around us; there are certainly many factors, but I think you have to admit that failure to pass on solid values consistent with a Biblical worldview are part of the equation.

But, that doesn't mean that the role of parents is to be minimized, especially those who do care.  And, that is seemingly a threat to people in control - it's why parents have been rising up across our country, challenging school board and running for those offices themselves.  But, too often, these parents are vilified for their involvement.  Christian parents must gladly and passionately recognize the importance of their role and depend on God to do what He has called.