Taking a Firm Stand Against Values Education

I am amazed (though we should not be) at how clever our enemy is. Rather than facing the truth in pitched battle, the world often with just a small adjustment of language disarms God’s people and can actually enlist us in supporting causes which are clearly anti-Biblical.

For example, recently I was reading an article in a Christian publication calling on pastors to engage their churches in support of “values education” in our public schools. I began reading with a supportive attitude, but as I made my way through the article, I found an interesting discrepancy of language. The writer was using as support statements by the founding fathers of the USA as well as famous educators and literary luminaries, but every single quote dating before 1970 used “virtues” rather than “values”. At first I thought the nagging in the back of my mind was my inner critic bothered by the inconsistency as a stylistic error. Then I began to think, if I were writing this article, which word would I chose –virtues or values?

Virtue is defined as conformity to a standard. The use of this word indicates the acceptance of an established standard beyond ourselves.  Value, on the other hand, is defined as the relative worth or importance of a trait.  By using this word, we intrinsically reject the application of an absolute standard.

Everyone has values, not everyone is virtuous.   In his book The Peace Child, Don Richardson describes the Sawi, a New Guinean tribe who valued treachery and deceit.  In the language and argumentation being used today, this value system is as valid as the Judeo-Christian tradition.

God doesn’t care what your culture considers valuable.  We are called to teach our children, not our traditions or values, but God’s virtues and grace.