It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. Proverbs 25.2

Speaking to a group of pagans in Lystra, the Apostle Paul commented in passing that the Lord had left a “witness” to Himself in the productive lands they had enjoyed for generations (Acts 14.17). The work and fruit of farming bear witness to God, as men use His creation for the good purposes He intends.

The creation, as we have seen, bears witness to the glory of God. Not all men see that glory – the pagans of Lystra apparently had not – but God is determined that His glory should not only be present but known in His creation (Hab. 2.14). In His Law, God promised His people that they would see His blessings in every aspect of their lives, including all their labors (Deut. 28.1-14). And He instituted annual feasts to allow them to gather as a people so that they could celebrate His goodness to them in providing their harvests and bounty.

The work of drawing out the witness to God which creation bears falls to those who know the Lord and know how to appreciate and use His creatures in such a way as to glorify Him. We are being good stewards of the creation, according to the purposes for which God entrusted it to us, when we are drawing out the witness it bears to the glory of God.

Part of our concern for public policies designed to ensure the right use of the environment is that they should not inhibit or impede our ability to “search out” the glory of God which may be discovered therein. Our nation, after all, sets aside one day each year to observe a season of Thanksgiving for the Lord’s bounty in every aspect of our lives. And, while this has become more a day of binging rather than of giving thanks, still, the principle is valid: As a people we should not scorn the use of the public square for acknowledging the goodness of God in all the ways He shows it to us.

When public schools prohibit meaningful and measured discussion of things religious and pursue a curriculum that furthers an economy of material wealth, they are impeding, if not denying, the witness God makes through His creation. Schools should be places where students learn to think and reflect on the world in which they live, and their world includes a large number of people for whom God is real and caring for His creation is a matter of serious stewardship. Is it too much to expect that, at least in some ways, students should be given the opportunity to observe the glory of God through the work of science, to express God’s beauty in their artistic endeavors, and to celebrate His goodness together as friends, families, and worshipers?

This is not to say that public schools should be turned into Christian schools; rather, it is simply to insist that public policy which deliberately works to obscure the glory of God or impede the discovery of that glory on the part of any who seek it, cannot expect the blessings of God which might otherwise attend to their efforts. It is worth discussing and debating, at least, whether the continuing decline of American public education might not be in some ways connected to its dedication to a strictly secular agenda. Since every worldview – including the secular and scientific worldview of public education – is a “religious” worldview, it does not represent good public policy to bar other religious worldviews from expression, especially as these represent the interests of local constituencies. Arguments based on the “separation of church and state” are specious in blocking expression of other religious worldviews through the public school curriculum. These should be challenged and refuted, and parents should be encouraged to seek outlets for their own views through the schools their tax dollars support and their children attend.

T. M. Moore

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