I had a conversation in July with a Christian woman who was a\u00a0librarian in a local public school. She told me about the squeeze being put on her and the other librarians concerning books they stocked on their shelves. Some parents actually came in and counted the number of books with reference to Christ, Christmas, and Christianity and compared that to how many books were available\u00a0containing favorable references to other religions.<\/p>\n
As we parted ways, I was struck with what I believed to be a warning and a mandate from the Holy Spirit. I sensed that now, more than ever, believers were to stand guard in prayer for our brothers and sisters in the education profession.<\/p>\n
Things have changed a bit in the realm of the spirit since school doors closed in May or June. Tensions have increased all over the nation. In my area, children and teens are now being bused into other school districts due to the lack of accreditation of their home districts. Anxiety exists on both the sending and receiving ends. Pressure to accept lifestyle choices that go against biblical tenets has ramped up and is even a key\u00a0component of curriculum in some places. Common Core, a government-sponsored, nearly nationwide, K-12 curriculum, is being introduced this year in schools all over the U.S. And we taxpayers, who foot the bill for all of this, have been told\u00a0there is nothing\u00a0we can say about it.<\/p>\n
Within the ranks of educators exists a strong majority who embrace without question agendas of social justice. In a nutshell, social justice is the philosophy which insists that certain races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations are always the oppressed (the good guys), whereas other<\/em> races, ethnicities, religions and sexual orientations are known to be the oppressors (the bad guys). Because of this, all laws, regulations, rules, and behaviors must be modified and then enforced to correct the injustice of the oppressors. The lines of distinction in this worldview are rigid and more dogmatic than the Ten Commandments ever could be.<\/p>\n And yes, this philosophy is <\/i>being taught to teachers and future teachers across the nation in universities, workshops, and professional development curriculum. I, myself, sat in on such demagoguery to find out that I, by virtue of being female, was among the oppressed, yet I was also<\/em> an oppressor, an evil white American heterosexual Christian. Guess they were hoping I would rise up as an angry woman against my male oppressors,\u00a0while at the same time genuflect and cower at the feet of non-Christian, non-American, non-white, gay folk whom undoubtedly I had so arrogantly oppressed. I spoke out at the time that I was not<\/em> oppressed as a female, and the leaders of the professional development looked at me with stern pity. \u201cOh, but you are,\u201d they maintained. \u201cYou\u2019ve been oppressed all your life.\u201d I guess my oppressor side had bludgeoned my oppressed side into supposing I was happy and content with my femininity. Go figure! And people wonder why mental disorders, confusion, and depression\u00a0are on the rise in our time!<\/p>\n This is the philosophy permeating every lesson and program in most public schools and classrooms. It has even sneaked quietly into some private and Christian schools as well, tweaking curriculum to \u201ckeep up with the times\u201d and to be socially relevant.<\/p>\n Into the mix traipse our unsuspecting little ones and youth all\u00a0around the nation. Their minds and hearts are like blank slates upon which others will seek to write their agendas.<\/p>\n But not all instructors are blind adherents of the prevailing worldview\u00a0promoted in public education. They are men and women\u00a0called by God to make a difference in the lives of those young ones who they teach. These instructors\u00a0may be in<\/em> the system, but they are not of<\/em> the system. Many are Christian; others are deeply patriotic Americans with a respect for traditional values; and\u00a0all are concerned educators, seeking to right a capsizing ship, throwing out life buoys of honesty, integrity, sound instruction, and high expectations to the young ones under their training.<\/p>\n And I sensed strongly in my spirit, a few weeks ago in July, that these educators\u00a0will need our prayer coverage. Pray for the teachers you know who attend your church or other churches. Stand in the gap for them to make wise decisions, to walk closely with the Lord, and to make a godly\u00a0impact in their schools. Pray for the teachers and administrators in the lives of your children, grandchildren, and neighbors. Ask the Lord to move on their lives and hearts to hunger for truth. Pray that these adults\u00a0will start to see through the philosophy dominating\u00a0their profession and to have the boldness to reject its debilitating stereotypes of victimization. Pray for custom-made laborers to enter into their lives and to minister to them on a deep level.\u00a0Know that every case in which light enters into the heart or mind of a teacher is\u00a0one more\u00a0defeat for the enemy. Recognize that every situation in which a believing teacher prays, behaves, and instructs according to the will of God, the purposes of Heaven will be promoted.<\/p>\n God may not be welcome in our school systems, but He cannot be kept out. When the people of God stand on behalf of our schools and their leaders, He will move.<\/p>\n I challenge you to pray for educators and to ask God to move in our schools this year. Through your prayers, may He frustrate the\u00a0agenda of the enemy.<\/p>\n Dorothy <\/p>\n