The Wuhan Virus Reminds Us: Beware Scientism and the Technocrats

It was not unusual in ancient times for individuals to sell themselves into servitude—as “bondservants”—which was often described as a form of slavery. Usually this was due to excessive debt, but sometimes it was done simply to have a roof over one’s head and food in one’s belly. In other words, for millennia, in order to satisfy their most basic needs, human beings have often been willing to suffer under many a heavy yoke. As C.S. Lewis put it, “A hungry man thinks about food, not freedom.”

In today’s Wuhan virus-driven hysteria, a corollary to Lewis’s above quote would be, “One living in a pandemic thinks about remaining healthy, not about freedom.” Writing about the “great issues” of his day, Lewis wrote in 1940, “Lord! How I loathe great issues…Could one start a Stagnation Party— which at General Elections would boast that during its term of office no event of the least importance had taken place?”

Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, John G. West, writes that, “According to stepson David Gresham, Lewis was skeptical of politicians and not really interested in current events. His concern was not policy but principle; political problems of the day were interesting to him only insofar as they involved matters that endured.”

Nevertheless, West adds that Lewis did indeed have a “great deal” to say about politics, writing about such things as crime, obscenity, capital punishment, communism, fascism, socialism, war, the welfare state, and so on. Lewis’s political efforts resulted in “enduring political standards for all time.”

Nowhere is this clearer, West states, than in Lewis’s writings on tyranny and morality. According to West, Lewis was particularly concerned with the tyranny that could result from the union of modern science and the modern state. With the Wuhan virus pandemic, we are currently living a lesson in this.

Lewis disputed the notion that we must exclusively rely on the counsel of scientists because only they have the answers to today’s complicated problems. He did not dispute their knowledge, but he concluded that most of it was irrelevant. In West’s words, “Political problems are preeminently moral problems, and scientists are not equipped to function as moralists.” Lewis added that,

I dread specialists in power because they are specialists speaking outside their special subjects. Let scientists tell us about sciences. But government involves questions about the good for man, and justice, and what things are worth having at what price; and on these a scientific training gives a man’s opinion no added value.

What such “specialists in power” often do is give a Big Government, which is already too willing to encroach on our lives, even more of a reason for doing so. This is especially true in times of crisis. Few things illustrate this better than our current “crisis” that is the Wuhan virus pandemic. “What things are worth having at what price” is currently a question of great concern to Americans and all freedom-loving people the world over, and such a question should never be answered by relying only on the knowledge of scientists. Sadly, in such times many of us are far too eager to become what Lewis called in 1958 “Willing Slaves of the Welfare State.”

Typically, in order for any oligarchy effectively to rise and rule, it needs some “extreme peril,” something to cure, some desperate need that the rulers promise to fulfill. As Lewis asked, is this not “the ideal opportunity for enslavement?”

When a generation lives in fear or dread of some looming crisis or when a society is made to believe that someone else can provide the things that it cannot live without, is this not the opportunity for those who seek to rule over us to be seen as liberators rather than the tyrants that they are? Were not Stalin and Hitler first seen as saviors and deliverers?

Following two world wars and in the midst of a cold war, Lewis wrote that

The increasing complexity and precariousness of our economic life have forced Government to take over many spheres of activity once left to choice or chance…Read Montaigne; that’s the voice of a man with his legs under his own table, eating mutton and turnips raised on his own land. Who will talk like that when the State is everyone’s schoolmaster and employer?

To “fix” our problems (whether real or perceived) and to exert the power and influence necessary, today’s ruling class often tells us that we must more and more rely on the “experts,” and also on their computer models. This means that the politicians must increasingly rely on the knowledge and advice of scientists, until, in the end, the politicians become “merely the scientists’ puppets.”

Thus, we get the motto of the technocrats: “only science can save us now” or “science is the way out” of our Wuhan virus crisis. Whether it is a global pandemic, global warming, stem-cell research, the beginning of life, healthcare, crime, homosexuality and marriage, or even gun control or economic policies, the technocrats claim to have the answers. After all, as Lewis also noted, “If we are to be mothered, mother must know best.”

In other words, in times of crisis, many of our politicians (and scientists alike) are surrendering themselves to scientism. Scientism is not science. It is an ideology that is often confused with science. It is, rather, an abuse of the scientific method and scientific authority.

In other words, scientism is a religion with many denominations: Darwinism, environmentalism, feminism, hedonism, humanism, Marxism, socialism, and so on. How many Americans now find their fulfillment and purpose in these movements? They celebrate Earth Day and Darwin Day. They boldly assert, “Science is my Savior.”

Also, scientism arrogantly attempts to lift itself above all other beliefs and disciplines—philosophy and theology included. Thus, as we see, scientism seeks to elevate the methods of natural science to a level where it is the bar by which every other intellectual discipline is held. Scientism ridicules faith and religion and tells us that “God is dead.” Scientism tells us that the “debate is over,” so shut up and get in line.

And, of course, scientism leads us to technocracy. “I dread government in the name of science,” said Lewis. “That is how tyrannies come in.” What a profound conclusion! How many of us have been duped in the name of “science”? How many of us cower and yield—or “shelter at home”—because, well, if the “scientists” (and then the politicians) tell us to do so, then we must do so?

We have long seen the results: generations are taught that life began without God; that the use of fossil fuels is warming the earth; that homosexuality is genetic and unchangeable; that abortion is not really the taking of a life; that marriage is whatever we want it to be; that confiscating the wealth of some to give to others is “fair;” that guns are evil; and so on. Of course, we then get laws and official government policy based on such conclusions.

Sadly, too many of us then grow accustomed to our chains. We become children, or pupils of the State (like “Julia”). We continue to elect leaders who perpetuate the cycle of the “Welfare State,” based significantly on the lies of scientism. It’s time for Americans to wake up to this perversion of science and return science, faith, philosophy, and by all means, common sense, to their proper place. This is especially true in times of crisis.

(See this column at American Thinker and at Climate Depot.)

Copyright 2020, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

The Wuhan Virus Reminds Us: Liberalism is Bad for Your Health

As of this writing, according to Real Clear Politics’ “Coronavirus Tracker,” Europe has been the hardest hit by the Wuhan virus pandemic. Of course, several factors have made this the case, but I believe, and multiple reports confirm, that there is little doubt that one of the biggest reasons why Italy, Spain, France, Germany, et al have suffered so from this virus is because the average European is so much older than most of the rest of the world.

Time and again over the last few weeks we’ve seen and heard how the Wuhan virus is much more dangerous for the elderly. All over the world, the death rates for older adults reveal this to be true. As Business Insider, and more recently Vox, reveal, the older you are, the more deadly is the Wuhan virus.

By median age, Europe is easily the world’s oldest continent. Seven of the European nations hardest hit by the Wuhan virus rank in the top 40 (out of 230) in median age. Additionally, of the nine European nations with more than 100 Wuhan virus deaths, each of them is in the world’s top 25 when it comes to the percentage of their population age 65 or older. However one looks at it, it’s clear that Europe is an old continent, and this is one of the reasons why the Wuhan virus has hit it harder than much of the rest of the world.

This begs the question: Why is Europe so much older than the rest of the world? Again, there are a variety of reasons for this, but one reason in particular is because Europe is simply not having enough children. Compared to other continents, Europe has the world’s lowest fertility rates. Compared to individual nations, Spain and Italy are nearly at the bottom when it comes to fertility rates.

So why isn’t Europe having children? A UK Vogue article from last year provides us with an anecdotal answer that I believe demonstrates what is widely believed across Europe. In a piece entitled “Not All Women Want To Be Mothers,” Dr. Peggy Drexler declares that one reason for this is that children are “bad for the planet.” She goes on, “Science has long stated that having a child is pretty much the worst thing you can do for the environment; one study out of Sweden found that having one fewer child per family can save nearly 60 tons of carbon-equivalent emissions a year.”

Along with being highest in age and lowest in birthing rates, Europe also is easily the world’s “greenest” continent. European nations dominate the top of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Of the nine European nations with more than 100 Wuhan virus deaths, each of them is in the top 18 out of 180 (top 10%) in the latest EPI. In other words, the left-wingers that dominate Europe’s electorate and state houses have long been sold on the man-made global warming/climate change scam. This has turned them into an old and aging continent, and thus they are more vulnerable to a wide variety of attacks.

Though the Wuhan virus is terrible for humanity, many on the left think that it’s great for the planet. The climate kooks at CNN recently declared, “There’s an unlikely beneficiary of coronavirus: the planet.” As if there was some coordination in their messaging, the same day, USA Today asked, “Could the coronavirus actually be saving lives in some parts of the world because of reduced pollution?” Why would anyone want to put such fools in charge of our nation’s healthcare?!

Unsurprisingly, warmists also want to blame climate change for the Wuhan virus. Ron Klain—former Chief of Staff to Vice Presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden and Obama’s “Ebola Czar”—recently concluded,

There is one more thing we can do to reduce the risk of spread from animals to humans, and that’s combat climate change. Climate change is driving this problem to some extent. … Climate change has a lot, a lot, a lot of bad effects. What we don’t think about very often is it’s a driver of these epidemics, but it certainly makes our risks go up on this planet.

Of course, to many American leftists, “combating climate change” means enacting the Green New Deal. While millions of Americans are chomping at the bit to get our fabulous fossil-fueled economy rolling again, warmists like Joe Biden think the Wuhan virus pandemic provides an excellent opportunity for pushing the agenda of the Green New Deal. As if the Wuhan virus hasn’t been hard enough on our economy, Biden and his ilk want to spend trillions more on this leftist boondoggle.

What’s more, it turns out a number of the left’s favorite “green” habits have proven deadly during this pandemic. As John Nolte at Breitbart put it,

[H]ow smart does urban living, mass transit, open borders, reusable straws, reusable grocery bags, reusable water bottles, gun restrictions, over-regulated housing, using the Centers for Disease Control to fight gun violence, and outsourcing to China look now?

Nolte adds,

What do these environmental loons think? That the whole idea of disposable items was just for laughs?...No, the reason disposable items became so popular was sanitation. What could be safer than removing a straw from a sealed paper sleeve? Those straws are now outlawed in California.

What could be safer than single-use grocery bags where you throw away that leaked meat juice instead of carrying it around until you finally throw the bags in the wash? Those single-use bags are now banned in eight states, including New York, whose ban took effect on March 1.

But wait just an ironic minute! Only days ago, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced a ban on reusable shopping bags. Gov. Baker declared, “From now on, reusable bags are prohibited and all regulations on plastic bag bans are lifted.” This was necessary because the city of Boston—and almost certainly many other Massachusetts municipalities—had a ban on disposable, single-use shopping bags.

As Michael Graham of the Boston Herald noted, “What’s happened is that workers in grocery stores are complaining about the filthy, germ-infested reusable bags they’re being asked to stick their arms into on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis.” These moronic bans exist because for so many on the left, as Graham rightly concludes, “science comes second. Politics comes first.”

Speaking of science and politics, like most other diseases, it seems that the Wuhan virus discriminates. A recent report out of Italy revealed that men were nearly three times more likely to die from the Wuhan virus than were women. The LA Times also reports that the Wuhan virus mortality numbers out of Italy are very much in line with what is happening in China and South Korea.

Additionally, the LA Times reveals that, according to a pediatric infectious disease specialist, there’s evidence that strongly suggests “that there’s something about estrogen that protects against the ravages of deadly coronaviruses.” Also, Kent Pinkerton, Professor of Pediatrics at UC Davis suspects that our response to the Wuhan virus reveals “important distinctions between the way that men’s and women’s immune systems fight infection,” and that “hormonal differences may be playing a key role in that immune response.”

Imagine that! There are differences between males and females—in matters of life and death, no less! Yet according to the dogma of the left, male and female are merely social constructs foisted upon the culture by the “unwoke.” Today’s leftists have so embraced this wickedness that we have fake females (males) taking trophies from girls and women, women claiming to be fathers, people threatened with arrest or job loss because of pronoun “misuse,” Drag Queen story time, taxpayers being forced to fund what is medically impossible, and supposed champions for women who can’t define what is a woman.

How long before these immoral malcontents force “gender neutral” demands on medical research and drug development? Remember, along with abortion-on-demand, which is so deadly that it has killed well over 60 million of the most innocent and vulnerable Americans—the unborn—the American left has also fully embraced the dangerous and extremely unhealthy LGBT agenda. All of this evil is courtesy of the modern left and the political party that they run. Again, why would anyone want to put these fools in charge of battling a pandemic or our nation’s healthcare?! Liberalism is not only dangerous, it is deadly. Remember this every time you vote!

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2020, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Why This Middle-Income American Family Doesn’t Need a Wuhan Virus Bailout

As our family of six continues to weather the Wuhan virus and the local, state, and national shutdown that has ensued, and before D.C. politicians spend another trillion or two that this nation doesn’t have on a “bailout,” the Thomas family would like to make something abundantly clear: we don’t need a China-virus check!

This is not because we are wealthy—at least not by American standards. As I’ve often noted, my main source of income comes from the teaching of mathematics at government schools. That’s right, I’m employed by two government schools: a day school where I’m employed full time and an evening charter high school where I’m employed part time. Like many other states, because of an order by Georgia’s governor, we are now doing school from home until at least the end of March.

Both of the schools where I’m employed are participating in school from home. At my day school, this means all teachers are still fully employed. This is likely the case all over the U.S. My evening school is keeping some teachers (all teachers at this type of school are part-time, hourly workers) employed—I’m one of them. Thus, at this time—and I don’t anticipate this changing—I have suffered no loss of income. (Hopefully, both schools will be up and running normally soon!)

Also, as Michelle and I have pointed out on multiple occasions, Michelle is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom with little to no income. Though this nation-wide shutdown has us quite annoyed, things are running relatively normally at the “Thomas Academy.” In other words, we do not need a “bailout.”

However, we do understand that many across the U.S. are not in our position, and because of this virus and the decisions of those in government, many Americans are suffering financially. This is especially the case with those who own small businesses. We know many such folks in our circle of family and friends. Let any bailout efforts from the government be targeted at those individuals and businesses.

If our wishes here are ignored and we nevertheless receive a China-virus check (or checks), Michelle and I have decided to use that money to help those in our community who own small businesses and are suffering the most during these difficult financial times. For example, we will be intentional about frequenting locally-owned businesses, such as restaurants, our auto mechanic, our karate school, and gun stores—northeast Georgia is blessed with several of these!

For those who offer them, we will purchase gift certificates that we can use later or give away. Also, we plan to employ local contractors for home-projects that we might otherwise put off or do ourselves. We may, for those we know well and can trust, simply write a check. However, most small business owners we know don’t want a handout and want to work for what monies they receive. However, the best thing government can do, and the quickest way out of this financial mess, is simply to get as many people as possible back to work as quickly as possible!

Also, this is perhaps the best time in my adult life to share God’s wisdom when it comes to money and finances. As Michelle and I have pointed out on multiple occasions, because of the wisdom and direction of God, for over two decades now we have lived debt free. This is another reason that we are able to weather these current times better than most, even those who have significantly more income than do we.

This would be the case even if we had a significant loss of income. Because we are indebted to no one for our possessions, we have no fear of foreclosure or repossession, even if my income went to zero. In addition, we have an emergency savings account that could keep us afloat for several months, if needed. Again, I must confess, our debt-free path was not my plan. It took a wise and financially disciplined wife and a wise and almighty God to open my eyes on most things concerning money.

After marriage, our first financial decision was to honor God by always giving a tenth of all that He provides, and also to begin living on a budget. Over 22 years ago, we established a workable budget (based only on my income, even though Michelle was working full time then) that we maintain to this day. Michelle was already tithing and living on a budget, so she simply brought what she was already practicing into our marriage. All I had to do was agree to go along. Whether we are talking about the government, a business, a church, a family, or an individual, a good budget is essential in maintaining a healthy bottom line.

A budget can help keep you from overspending during any particular income period or in any particular area; it can help you plan for non-regular expenses such as car and home repairs; and it can help you plan for your financial future. Establishing a budget can be a lengthy process. It can take as long as a full year for an individual or a family to get a budget working well, but the benefits are well worth the hard work involved.

Our budget has played an essential role in guiding us through various financial times. We are a homeschooling family of six, with our four children growing from little ones into teenagers and before long, young adults. Our budget is in constant flux, but it helps us see the adjustments in spending that we need to make in order to maintain sound financial discipline.

Early in our marriage, after agreeing to tithing and budgeting, I was still completely of the mindset of most when it came to the purchase of big-ticket items—cars, homes, etc. Because she worked for, and was financially discipled by the late, great Larry Burkett, and for various other reasons, very early in our marriage, Michelle was hinting at building our home without a mortgage. I only agreed to this, along with making a life-long commitment to living debt free, after God got my attention.

Lastly, the most important financial principle that I have learned is the biblical principle of stewardship. Tithing, living on a budget, and becoming debt free all hinged on our understanding our roles as stewards. A steward is a manager of someone else’s property. Scripture reveals that God owns everything. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

Thus, from a biblical perspective, none of us really “owns” anything. We are merely managers of what God has given us. Whether material resources, or our talents and abilities, a proper biblical perspective means that we understand that everything we have comes from the One who made us. Until we come to grips with our role as stewards, we will never truly understand money and wealth and how to deal with financial blessings or difficulties.

I take almost no credit for where we are financially. Michelle has always been more financially disciplined than me. Early in our marriage, through her efforts and the ministry founded by Larry Burkett, Christian Financial Concepts (now Crown Financial Ministries), I embraced the simple, wise truths put forth in Scripture concerning money and debt. In other words, we are where we are financially by the grace and wisdom of God.

Our situation was and is a unique one (detailed in Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World). I would not necessarily recommend that anyone do things exactly as we did them. Our path was literally “a calling.” However, I do believe that there are tried and true, simple financial principles that we applied and are still living by that would benefit most anyone—especially in times like these.

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2020, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Capitalism: A Great Weapon against the Wuhan Virus

As the Wuhan virus wreaks havoc across the world and here in the U.S., Americans would do well to remember one of the biggest reasons why we will most likely weather this storm better than any other nation. After our faith in the One who made us and in His great wisdom, mercy and love, perhaps the greatest weapon in the world against the Wuhan virus is American capitalism.

Whether or not you agree that the concern—or panic—over the Wuhan virus is real or manufactured, there is little doubt that we are in unprecedented times. In my 50 years of life, I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve seen our nation scared over health concerns, national security concerns, and the like, but never to the point of shutting down churches, schools, entertainment, businesses, and so on, on the scale that we are now witnessing.

There’s no doubt that such a shut-down will drastically impact our lives and our economy. In fact, as dire as the health consequences from the Wuhan virus might be, the economic consequences of this pandemic could be even worse. However, we will make it through this—even the vast majority who contract the virus will recover—and hopefully most of us will be no worse for the wear. If this is indeed the case, Americans will owe a great deal to American capitalism and the businesses and corporations that our economic system created.

Last week, while announcing a national emergency over the Wuhan virus, President Trump surrounded himself with the leaders of several U.S. corporations including Walmart, Target, and CVS. Part of the Trump administration’s goal in enlisting pharmacies and retailers is to provide Wuhan virus testing in “critical locations,” as determined by healthcare professionals.

Also, prior to announcing the national emergency, as reported by CNBC,

Trump hosted executives from Gilead Sciences, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Moderna, GlaxcoSmithKline, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi to discuss efforts to create a vaccine and therapeutics.

“Today, we are meeting with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies — the biggest in the world, most prestigious, the ones that get down to the bottom line very quickly,” Trump declared at the meeting’s onset.

In addition, prior to announcing the national emergency, in order to “help beat back falsehoods and use artificial intelligence to glean new insights into the fast-spreading virus,” the Trump administration met with technology giants Amazon, Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Twitter, and the like. Fox Business reported that after meeting with “big tech,” the same day the Trump administration also met with big banks in order to “discuss not only combating coronavirus but likely also the extreme market swings that have dominated the past few weeks.”

Deborah Birx, Trump’s Wuhan virus coordinator, recently declared:

Seeing the spread of the virus around the globe, the president realized that our current approach to testing was inadequate to meet the needs of the American public. He asked for an entire overhaul of the testing approach. He immediately called the private sector laboratories to the White House, as noted, and charged them with developing a high-throughput quality platform that can meet the needs of the American public.

As vast numbers of Americans are now having to spend most of their time at home, online shopping and home deliveries of various products have skyrocketed. So much so that Amazon recently announced significant pay raises for hourly workers along with plans to hire 100,000 new workers. Thanks to the efforts of companies like Amazon, Walmart, Kroger, Instacart, DoorDash, Netflix, Hulu, Home Depot, Best Buy, Macy’s, and so on, Americans can get everything from groceries to medicine, clothing, furniture, electronics, entertainment, ready-to-eat meals, and the like, delivered right to their front doors.

All of this is possible because of the vast internet network created and run by thousands of U.S. internet providers. America has more internet providers—about 7,000—than the rest of the world combined (approximately 5,000). What’s more, this network—along with large numbers of Americans owning or having access to a computer—has made it much easier to do home school.

Whether at the K-12 or college/university level, the numbers of Americans doing school from home continues to grow. Of course, with most traditional American schools now temporarily shut down, millions more American students are now getting to experience home school. This is only possible because of what U.S. technology companies have built and the services they provide.

As I note in The Miracle and Magnificence of America, technology companies are now the world’s most valuable corporations. The world’s top five most valuable technology companies—Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), and Facebook—are all American companies. Additionally, eight of the world’s top ten most valuable brands are American. Many of these have been and will continue to be very valuable in our fight against the Wuhan virus.

Many companies are smartly and quickly adjusting their products and services in order to better serve homebound Americans. Along with the technology that allows millions of Americans to work, shop, or do school from home, the food industry is stepping up as well. Restaurants are offering expanded, as well as better, take-out opportunities along with home meal deliveries. In order to help independently owned restaurants, Uber Eats is waiving delivery fees for such businesses. Moe’s, KFC, Chipotle, and others are offering some version of free delivery during this crisis.

Since our founding, millions of Americans have done foolish and awful things with their God-given freedoms. However, the liberty enjoyed in America has also produced the most prosperous and generous nation in the history of humanity. Millions of Americans have been lifted out of poverty and now enjoy a standard of living that is the envy of the world. This is because, the founders of America knew well that, since the creation of the world, the “natural” state of mankind has been “clearly seen.” As Scripture reveals at the Garden of Eden, Natural Law begat liberty. In other words, our natural state is to be free. We were created that way. With God’s laws as the foundation for our government, with God’s law written on the hearts of so many Americans, and with a thirst for liberty, a free-market capitalistic society was simply the logical and right direction for the United States of America.

It was wise for President Trump to enlist the resources, knowledge, and might of American corporations and businesses in our battle against the Wuhan virus. I hope he continues to rely on America’s free markets in this fight. In times like these, we should be especially thankful for all that American capitalism has made possible. 

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Copyright 2020, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Welcome to Homeschooling, America!

Here in Georgia, the mass hysteria about the coronavirus has caused the governor to declare a “public health state of emergency.” He has advised public schools and daycare centers to close for two weeks in order to curb the opportunities for the virus to spread. It’s unclear which is causing more panic in the hearts of Georgia citizens—the coronavirus, the toilet paper shortage, or the fact that parents will have to be home with their children nonstop for two weeks straight. Many other states are also closing schools, so millions of our nation’s families are suddenly experiencing a little of what it’s like to homeschool.

My husband and I have been homeschooling since our first child was born. That child is now a senior in high school and will graduate in May. Thanks to Georgia’s “dual enrollment” program (which, unfortunately, has just been drastically slashed by the legislature), he will graduate with an associate’s degree in computer networking, along with completing his k-12 homeschool program. Our second child will follow suit next May, graduating with an associate’s degree also. Our younger two kids will start high school and middle school in the fall, so we trust that they will have similar success in their high school years.

One of the great benefits of living debt free–as we detail in our book, Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World—has been the opportunity to homeschool our children. My last day of full-time, outside-the-home employment was the day before our first baby was born. I worked part time from home off and on for several years after we started having kids, but I’ve brought in almost no income for nearly a decade now.

The only reason we can live on a teacher’s salary and still afford to have me home full time to educate our three teenagers and one pre-teen at this point is because, before we even had children, we started living on only my husband’s salary. We made sacrifices to build our home debt free and we live beneath our means, buying only used cars, couponing, shopping for sales, saving up for large purchases, and so on.

And for anyone who thinks that babies and toddlers are expensive, please brace yourselves and begin saving as early as possible, because it has been a shock to the system to experience how expensive it is to raise teenagers! When our youngest turns 13 next year, we will have four teenagers in our home. As homeschoolers, we must foot the bill for curriculum, extracurricular activities, music lessons, instruments, all meals (and teenagers eat a lot), transportation, computers, and so on. There’s no such thing as “free” anything in the homeschooling world, with the exception of taxpayer-funded dual enrollment college classes here in Georgia.

The blessings of homeschooling, however, far outweigh the sacrifices and financial costs involved. One of the biggest blessings of being a homeschooling family is that our children are growing up to be close friends. Unlike siblings who spend most waking hours away from each other in public school classrooms filled with their peers, there are immeasurable benefits to spending concentrated time truly learning to live with people of different ages and with varying personalities and abilities. This presents a myriad of opportunities to learn how to work out conflicts, celebrate victories with each other, and grow in their faith together.

Another blessing of homeschooling is being able to help guide the kids’ character development because a parent is with them at all hours of the day and night and can see everything that needs to be addressed. It might be possible to mask certain issues such as dishonesty or pride or greed or slothfulness or lack of self-control when kids are away from home most of their waking hours each weekday. Being together for concentrated times allows parents to see more and address problems as they inevitably arise.

A third benefit of homeschooling is the wonderful flexibility that it affords. We can go to music lessons in the mornings, karate at noon, or orthodontist appointments right after lunch, and get our academic work done around our activities. Our oldest son started working at his first real job a few weeks ago, so he works three full days each week and does his school work during the remaining days. The possibilities are literally endless.

So while many people might be dreading the next few weeks, I want to encourage parents to look for the blessings that are available in this opportunity. Enjoy slowing down and spending quality time with your families. So many of us are on the go constantly with various activities and events. It is likely to be a relief not to have to rush around so much for a while. Let’s savor these days of being together. Let’s play board games, watch movies together, cook fun foods, and read good books to our kids. This forced respite from the busyness of life just might turn out to include some of the best memories your children will recall later in life.

I hope that many families who are thrown into the atmosphere of homeschooling during the next few weeks will recognize the myriad of blessings that come with this territory. Our children are in our homes and in our care for such a brief time, in the grand scheme of things. Let’s savor every moment and give them the very best of us, pouring love and attention and wisdom and encouragement into their lives. This coronavirus scare could very well be a sweet blessing in disguise for many American families.

(See this column at American Thinker.)

Michelle Thomas is a Christ follower, wife to Trevor Thomas, and homeschooling mom of four. Her books include Lord, I Need You, Through Deep Waters, and Debt-Free Living in a Debt-Filled World. Her website is KingdomCrossing.com, and her email is michelle@kingdomcrossing.com.