Values and Discrimination

Tossed to and fro …

There is an election coming up in my state and one of the issues that has arisen is the possibility that some of the elements of the Discrimination Act which allows Christian Schools to employ only Christian staff will be removed.

For our school, which was set up by a group of Christian parents to support each other in the task of nurturing their children in the Lord, this is a serious issue. Not just our teaching staff but also the ancillary staff (administration, cleaners, bus drivers, aides) are seen as part of that process in a Christian community.  As with any community, this side of heaven, it is not perfect but our aim is to use Christian principles and values to guide and lead us through the vagaries of life.

I have to confess that I tend to become annoyed having to fight these battles on a continuing basis. Christians seem to have to justify themselves daily. I say to myself, why can’t other people see how obvious and consistent this thinking is even if they don’t agree?  However, on calmer reflection I realise that the majority of people, including Christians, live lives based on a higgledy piggledy set of values which are often in conflict and not consistent. So why should governments be sympathetic to our values when we treat them with intermittent disdain anyway?

So for me, the challenge is not (just) about standing up against society’s attacks upon my Christian values and principles but it is more about me living out my Christian worldview consistently so that my life and decisions are a reflection of a Biblical undersdtanding. Every time I am hypocritical, judgemental or shallow, I give people around me ammunition to suggest that the Christian faith is not the radical change of heart and life that Jesus and Bible claim it to be.

My consistency and that of the Christian community to a gospel life style should be the first line of defence against assaults on Christian values and principles.