Let School Begin

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7

Apple paper plates with name tags and a toy school bus centerpiece, Elmer’s glue and penmanship paper graced my daughter-in-love’s table for Joel’s first day of preschool at home. In the last few weeks, Joel, like most students across the country, has started his formal education. He’s eager to learn, informing his local librarian with pride that he was starting preschool as he picked up the books his mom had reserved. He can’t wait to learn how to use scissors, write his letters, and explore the characteristics of different forest animals.

There is something about the first day of school that I have always loved. With a fresh box of perfectly tipped crayons, blank notebooks, and crisp folders, I looked forward to packing my backpack and starting school. This carried on to college, when I purchased my books from the bookstore, and couldn’t wait to receive my syllabus to see what I was going to learn. It continued as a home educator when the process of picking curriculum, creating a schedule, and embarking on a new learning adventure with my own children sparked joy in my life. Like Meg Ryan’s character in You’ve Got Mail, I would have been pleased to receive a “bouquet of newly sharpened pencils” from a person who loved school supplies as much as I did.

Today, I no longer buy school supplies, or wait for UPS to deliver curriculum. I only purchase new crayons for my Sunday School class or my grandchildren. But the first day of school pictures on Instagram and the school supply section at Target still make September a new beginning. For me, it’s a time to reflect on being a lifelong learner. Just like Joel, I am excited to learn new ideas, thoughts, and perceptions. Even though I may not be in a classroom, I still want to grow as a Christian and broaden my horizons.

Being a lifelong learner requires intentionality. Just like parents and students prepare for the new school year, I need to prioritize learning new ideas and gaining new perspectives. I need to evaluate my sources and have a balanced approach to where I get news and information. I must recognize that if all my information is coming from an echo chamber, I may not be getting an accurate perception. And most importantly, I need to actively study the Bible, not just read it.

In the last few years, I have approached my personal Bible study differently. I am currently taking the time to slowly read scripture, and look up meanings of words, customs, and culture to get a deeper understanding of what is written and why. I also am paraphrasing my thoughts about what individual portions of scripture are telling me about God. Finally, through podcasts like BEMA Discipleship, I am getting a deeper understanding of the Hebrew perspective and how it influenced the stories written in the Bible. It’s amazing to find out how my western point of view has misinformed my perception of characters, stories, and principles.

For years, I was a talk radio addict, listening to various conservative thinkers pontificating on major news and issues. It shaped how I viewed current events, voted for political leaders, and interpreted history. This echo chamber was supported further with some of the Christian voices I was listening to both in the homeschooling circle and on the radio. I became indoctrinated and rarely listened to anything that was contrary to these thinkers.

And life continued, until the 2016 election, #Metoo movement, immigration, and building the wall battles, followed by the pandemic and later racial upheaval due to police brutality. My typical news sources no longer seemed balanced with the reality of video footage of police brutality, patients dying in hospitals, and stories of immigrant detainees. I soon became disillusioned with news and began wondering what God had to say about the world around me.

While reading the Bible, the words of the Jewish and Christianity admonishments to care for the “widow, fatherless and foreigner” began to be illuminated across the Bible. Deuteronomy alone mentions this population eleven times with very specific expectations on how the community was to care for them. The care for these marginalized segments of the population were a mark of what made those who believed in God different. Jesus, both in actions and deeds, demonstrated how we should care for marginalized people. He elevated women and other outsiders by including them in His inner circle. He preached that those who will inherit the kingdom of God are the ones who took care of strangers by clothing them and taking them in.

With these scriptures in mind, I began to seek sources that aligned with these principles. I found several podcasts that were asking hard questions about Christianity in relation to the news and issues. Two, The Bulletin and The Russell Moore Show are produced by Christianity Today. Both address current events like how to handle AI technology and what does the Barbie movie say about women and men. Instead of eliciting an emotive response, they tend to feature reporters and thinkers across genres who articulate well thought out answers. I also have found Confronting Christianity with Rebecca McLaughlin thought provoking as well. She, along with the previous co-host Kyle Worley, address issues like gender identity, human rights issues, and race in the context of Christianity. None of these podcasts are watering down scripture, instead they are more fully expressing the gospel in relation to these issues.

Finally, I am actively reading books that address some of the hard issues. I found books like She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, Solito by Javier Zamora, and I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America by Tyler Merrit give perspectives that make me pause and think before forming an opinion. Whether its sexual harassment, immigration, or race, these are complicated issues rooted in historical context that cannot be whitewashed by patriotic sentiments. They need to be confronted and addressed if change is going to happen.

About seven years ago, I got my first set of bifocal glasses. It was amazing how quickly my eyes adapted to the two different prescriptions on my lenses. I no longer had to move my glasses to read a text from my husband or strain to read a book in bed. Everything seemed crisper and clearer. I could see both far and near. In many ways, I think these last few years I have gotten a new set of lenses regarding my Christian worldview. It’s become wider and more comprehensive. I have learned to recognize that I didn’t see things as clearly as I thought and that being a Christian is about compassionate, not angry tweets. In no way do I think I have all the answers; it’s a constant balancing of act of learning and integrating while resting on a Christian foundation. And I agree with the words of Rebecca McLaughlin in her book Confronting Christianity, “Like paleontologists sifting through the dirt, we must excavate what the Bible actually says while dusting off the cultural dross.”