The RenewaNation Review 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 | Page 14

A Business Perspective Why Christian Education Matters By Gary Feazell B EING THE YOUNGEST SIBLING in a family of nine children opens your eyes to a lot of human qualities. As I got older, I realized there were strong influences during my younger years that shaped my think- ing and focus on life. My mom, Marie, and my Dad, who traveled a lot with his job, raised five boys and four girls. Mom’s influence was a Bible in one hand and a peach tree switch in the other. We all understood the value of discipline and hard work. Love and respect were always prevalent in every aspect of life in our home—even in discipline. When I was very young someone once asked me why my Mom spanked me. My reply was “Because she loves me.”   The training and focus of those young years left an impression on me that I could accomplish my goals in life. At the age of nineteen, I felt the urge to start a construction business. The thought of starting a business and the plan- ning was a little intimidating, but the desire to achieve was greater. In October of 1976, my wife Delores and I began this journey of hard work, long hours, sleepless nights, and slim finances that go along with a start-up company. Ten years later, we opened our first out-of-home office. As the company grew, I quickly realized the importance of good 14 people. My aim is to hire people with diverse skills and abilities that I don’t possess to enhance our effectiveness as a company. Through the years, I have relied on those great people to expand our customer base in the marketplace. This brings me to the question, “Why does Christian educa- tion matter?”   As I alluded to previously, I strongly believe the younger years shape our thinking. Each day as I listen to the news headlines, my awareness of the need for strong values in our education system grows. I am watching our politically correct society destroy the young people that will be my future employees. I will depend on these individuals to carry on a long tradition of who we are as a company. When we remove the principles of God, family, and country from our schools and homes, it reduces the pool of potential hires that I want to represent our company.   Respect, work ethic, character, and integrity are all things that matter. These characteristics allow our employees to be the marketing arm of our company. Without Christian worldview training at school and teaching at home, I see companies like mine fading into the sunset. We need to propagate this thinking to preserve our heritage and nation.