By Scott and DiAnna Brannan (9/18/03)
We are greatly grieved over the division public school programs have caused among fellow believers and in
the homeschool community. When we began homeschooling we always believed that God, who is the head of our home, was therefore
head of our school. We believed that He would provide all that we needed. After all, we were raising children for the King.
Under no circumstance could we envision removing our family from under His authority.
The story from the time after the Exodus found in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11 may best illustrate our concerns
for those who have chosen to return to public school programs, whether full-time or part-time.
Numbers 11: 4-6 (NIV) The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing
and said, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost- also the cucumbers, melons, leeks,
onions, and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite, we never see anything but this manna!"
The Israelites had forgotten what God was doing in their lives. He was making them into a great nation. He
was giving them a new land with cities they did not build and crops they did not plant. Most importantly, He was to be their
God and they were to be His people. Instead of thinking about these blessings, they focused on what they did not have. It
was the "rabble" among them who stirred them up, a group of people who soon forgot God’s mercies and gave into their
cravings and lust (Psalm 106 13). They claimed that they ate freely, "without cost". How quickly they forgot that they were
slaves in Egypt. Had they already forgotten the cruelty of slavery, the whip of their masters, the killing of innocent male
babies, forced labor, etc? There was a cost and that cost was freedom and their children! God had a better plan for them,
but by listening to the "rabble" they sinned before a Holy God and brought punishment upon themselves. God wanted to bless
them, but He would not force them to obey and trust Him.
We feel that God has called us to homeschool our children. He desires His people to leave this worldly system
of education, because He has a better plan. But Egypt, "the world," beckons us to return. It is human nature to be comfortable
with what is familiar to us. How soon we forget the problems! We need to ignore the voice of the "rabble", who have chosen
to lust after programs and services offered by the government schools. Do not be fooled! The government schools have not changed.
They are not of God and they are not His plan. They certainly do not teach God’s Word and a Christian worldview. Everyone
knows that. So what is it they teach? It is a false religion called secular humanism.
2John 10-11 "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or
welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work."
Psalm 1:1-2 "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers, But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night."
Matthew 10:24-25 "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the
student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much
more the members of his household!"
Romans 1:28 "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God he gave them
over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done."
God gave us a vision for homeschooling in our second year that was very simple. First, we should teach our
children to have a faith in God, then develop godly character, and then impart knowledge (2 Pe 1:5). We knew then that this
vertical alignment was not going to be taught in the government schools, no matter what the subject or teacher.
2 Peter 2:8 "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective
and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Homeschooling is a wonderful gift from God to our family. We cannot imagine that there is anything more important
than this gift. What could the government schools possibly have to offer in comparison? A homeschooler who joins any public
school program either part-time or full-time, not only changes their legal status but their authority structure. They must
meet the state goals and graduation requirements, which will drive the curriculum. It certainly will not be a Christian curriculum
or world view. Even worse, it may not be the Lord’s will. Though the temptation is there, we must resist. The price
is too high. Our children are too valuable.
Mark 8:36 "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"
Living as Christians doing God’s will can require great sacrifice and effort on our part. We are raising
children for the King, warriors for His kingdom, people to bring Him glory. Doesn’t our Lord and Savior deserve this
from us, and don’t our children?
Exodus 15:26 "He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right
in His eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I
brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals’."
I pray that you will do what is right in His eyes and that the Lord will richly bless you and your family
for being obedient to Him..
