Outward Appearance

Today's Scripture: ISam.16:6-7

So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!”
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees;[a] for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

As a homeschooling mom, how do you measure your children's success? What does success mean to you? How can you tell if your kids are learning anything? Do you measure their homeschooling success by the number of books they read in a month, or how well they have memorized their multiplication table or how good they are in science and history?

There is nothing wrong with all the things mentioned above, infact I know that 90% of the time, homeschooling does help kids excel more than their peers in academics, however as a Christian if we measure educational success only by what we can see outwardly, then we have missed the point.

We see from our scripture reading today that the Lord sent Samuel to annoint a king over His people. When Samuel saw Eliab he thought for sure this was the one because Eliab "looked" like kingly material, however Eliab was not God's choice. Infact God had been preparing someone after His own heart out in the field with the Sheep.

My husband and I decided to homeschool not just for academics, but because we wanted to raise kids with a Biblical worldview, we wanted to raise godly kids. This does not mean that we do not care about their academics, infact my 8 year old is alreading learning math at the 5th grade level and reads on an 8th grade level this is all well and good, but it does not tell us how well they are learning. What we try to do is measure their homeschooling success by their character and understanding of scripture according to their level. How they treat others and those who are not as privileged as they and also how they show respect to us as well to the other grown ups / authority in their lives.

David said in Psaml 84:10

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

As a Christian parent, it is more important to raise a godly child that exhibits godly character and has a heart that seeks after God than to have an Einstein who has no fear of God or worse, has a form of godliness, but denys the power.

Just like David, I would rather they are doorkeepers in the house of the Lord, than to be kings in the house of wickedness.

Have a blessed day.