It is not just the outward, blatant sins that should have been “put away with the old man.” The nastiness of hypocritical, angry, dominating spirits—those sour, prideful sins are possibly even more ugly and destructive than the others. It’s in how we live now, while claiming Christ, that real damage can be done.

The homeschool community is an interesting one. It is growing by leaps and bounds, yet it still seems predominantly comprised of families that are Christian and Conservative. I wonder how (or if) these parents of first and second generation homeschoolers are hypocrite proofing the home. As much as I hate to admit it, it seems typical to find an air of arrogance and hypocrisy with these “above average Christian kids.” These kids know the statistics. They know they are outscoring their public school counterparts academically. When they meet strangers at the store, on an airplane, in the doctor’s office, or at church, they hear the same thing: “You seem so mature. You communicate so well. Most kids your age don’t have your kind of manners.” Etc., etc., etc.

Yes, homeschoolers are getting a reputation for being generally better behaved, more mature, better communicators, more socially adept and involved, less inclined to “follow the crowd.” But are they also getting a reputation for being snobs, uncompassionate, and prideful? For those of us who claim Christ (and for our young homeschoolers who claim Christ), this should never be the case.

There is a story in Luke 7:36. It begins with a Pharisee who desired to have Jesus dine with him, so Jesus went to his home for a meal. While Jesus was there, Luke says that a woman who was a known sinner heard that He was at the Pharisee’s house, so she brought an alabaster box of ointment, and she stood at Jesus’ feet, behind Him, weeping. And she began wiping her tears off of His feet with her own hair and anointed His feet with the oil. When the Pharisee saw this, he thought to himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him.”

Jesus spoke to him and said, “There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?” The Pharisee answered, “I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.”

Jesus told him that he judged correctly, and then He said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” I don’t know about you, but that really compels me to desire to teach my kids the full truth. I cannot just teach them what they should not do. The void left by the “don’t dos” needs to be filled in with what they should do. “Don’t do this; do this instead.” If my character training boils down to, “Don’t dress like Susie,” or if I am simply pointing out the faults of others as examples of Christian failure, then I am setting up both myself and my kids to be the biggest, ugliest Pharisees that ever walked the continent.