What’s the Big Deal about Worldview? – Part 1
Whether we want to admit it or not, the word “worldview” plays a much bigger part than most people realize in all that’s going on around us in the world today.
When we think of key issues that trigger our emotions and define our world today (9-11, ISIS, abortion, same-sex marriage) and that will ultimately define history, we can’t help but realize that there is a massive clash of worldviews that exists.
Yes, worldview matters! And I believe that it matters most for the upcoming generations of young people who are the future of our homes, churches, and nation.
The reality is that our children’s worldview today is the real world of tomorrow!
According to research done by George Barna…
- As early as age 2, a child has already started developing their worldview.
- By the time they reach the age of 9, a person’s moral foundation is generally in place.
- And by the time they turn 13, their worldview is practically set in stone. (Additionally, 85% of those who get saved do so by the age of 13)
Barna found that in tracking the religious beliefs and behavior of children into their adulthood, their worldview changes very little, if at all, as they get older.
He then comes to this conclusion – “The research reinforces one simple but profound truth over and over again: If you want to have a lasting influence upon the world, you must invest in people’s lives; and if you want to maximize that investment then you must invest in those people while they are young.”
In his book, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, George Barna says this:
“Social scientists have known for years that the moral foundations of children are generally determined by the time the individual reaches age nine… Anyone who wishes to have significant influence on the development of a person’s moral and spiritual foundations had better exert that influence while the person is still open-minded and impressionable – in other words, while the person is still young… The older a person gets, the more difficult it is for him or her to replace existing moral and spiritual pillars… More often than not, what a person decides about truth, sin forgiveness and eternal consequences during the preteen years is the same perspective that person carries to the grave and beyond, wherever that may take him or her.”
Let me ask you this question, have you ever tried to convince an adult of something when their mind was already made up?… It’s tough, isn’t it?
But through the gift of children, we’ve been given a small window of opportunity to shape and mold their worldview before their mind is made up and while it’s still impressionable. That’s a critical window of opportunity that we can’t afford to miss!
According to the above facts, here’s the challenge we are facing today – Before the age of 13, kids are defining what they believe. After the age of 13, they start defending those beliefs.
We must realize that there is a war going on today for the impressionable minds of our children. It’s an intentional war to reshape the worldview of the next generation into something completely contrary to that of the former generations.
Johnathan Parnell said it this way – “There is a war on children, and we are all, in one way or another, playing some role in it… we are wrestling demons—because there is little the demons hate more than little children.”
The war for the hearts and minds of children is a war against the very enemy, Satan, himself. We are living in a day and age of massive worldview shifts on issues of huge moral and Biblical consequences (abortion, homosexuality, the sanctity of human life on all levels) And it’s not going to be us, but our children, whose feet will be held to the fire on all of these issues.
I will never apologize for “indoctrinating” my children with the truth of the Bible, because that’s exactly what the world around us is trying to do – indoctrinate our kids with their anti-biblical philosophies and mindset. And throughout history, they’ve been very subtle yet successful at re-labeling terms to make sinful practices more palatable and acceptable:
- Abortion is not referred to as “the killing of the unborn”, but labeled as “the mother’s right to choose.”
- Acceptance of homosexuality is not the sign of an increasingly “sinful” society, but the sign of a more “tolerant” society.
- Christians used to be the “respected” of society for holding to the truth and morality, but now are labeled as “intolerant, bigots and haters”.
Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness.”
George Barna said this,“One of the greatest victories won by God’s enemy has been the ability to convince most people, even most Christians, that there is no war being waged, so we might as well relax, feel good and enjoy life…” He went on to say, “We can do everything in our power to stop the evil in the world today, but if we fail to equip our kids to face it, nothing we do today matters!”
In the end, if we fail to reach the children, we fail. They are our future, our hope, and prayerfully, one of our highest priorities.
Billy Sunday once wisely said: “The only way on God’s earth you will solve the problem of reaching the masses is by getting hold of the children.”
Yes, worldview matters! Parents, what are you doing today to intentionally shape the worldview of your children? And do you realize that the world-view they develop will be much a reflection of your own? Maybe today would be a great time to stop and evaluate where our children are in this specific area and where we need to help them to be.
If we want to have a hope for our future world, we must teach and train our children to adopt a biblical worldview of life, and we must do it now… while they’re young… before it’s too late! Because their worldview is the ultimate filter through which they will base all future decisions in their life.
When it comes to worldview, the principle of Proverbs 22:6 is so very applicable…
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
- Note: For the purpose of this article, the focus was strictly on addressing the issue of our children’s worldview that deals with their mind – the way they think and believe about right and wrong and how it affects their future decision making. An equally important post for another time would be addressing our children’s heart – teaching them both how to come to Jesus in salvation and instilling within them a desire to please Him. We all understand that that is where true change begins. Just wanted to make that distinction clear.
