As parents across the country are preparing their children for another school year, most Americans are doing so at their local public school. But as Dr. Voddie Baucham warns, “If you send your children to Caesar, don’t be surprised when they come back as Romans.”

I’ve been pouring over the book of Daniel the last few weeks, and I want to share some interesting insights I’ve observed as it pertains to our children’s education and our responsibilities as parents.

We see in the beginning of chapter one that the king has ordered that “some of the children of Israel” be brought into the palace. Now, notice that it says some of the children, not all. Which children did the king want? We read in verse four that the master of the eunuchs was instructed to find “young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace.”

The king wanted the best and brightest from among the children of God’s people, those identified as having the gifts and talents and ability to serve in his palace. The king’s intent was to “teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans” that they would be well-educated in his ways, that they may serve his kingdom most effectively.

In biblical typology, the Chaldeans (being a part of Babylon) are a representation of the world’s systems. In other words, what we see is that the king’s goal was to provide the children of Israel with an education that would train them to operate in worldly systems and apply that learning to serve the king and his mission.

However, the king did not force these young men into servanthood. Instead, he enticed them. In verse five, it says that the king “appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.”

That same strategy is employed by the kings of this world even today. They entice our children with their delicacies, and, once they’ve tasted, they teach them “through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Col 2:8)

How many Christians teens have been lured away by sports, the arts, academic programs, social activities, and other interests to the public school system, and, in the process have submitted to “years of training that they might serve before the king.”

Enter Daniel. The Bible says that Daniel “purposed in his heart” that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies.

The chief of the Eunuchs was so concerned that Daniel’s health would deteriorate that he insisted that Daniel eat and drink the king’s delicacies. True today as well, the world simply cannot fathom why any young person would not want to enjoy all that it has to offer. It is convinced that its system is in the best interest of every individual and that it would be foolish and unhealthy to forsake our “portion of the king’s delicacies.”

So Daniel proposes a test.

“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink, then let our appearance be examined before you, and let the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.”

Now, this isn’t a debate about diet. Daniel’s request for vegetables and water wasn’t because he was a health nut, but because he sought to obey the strict Jewish dietary laws and not defile himself with the king’s food and drink.

This required an act of faith and a sincere trust in God. I have to believe that the food and wine that the king offered had to be really tempting, even to Daniel, especially in comparison to his basic meals of veggies and water. He also had to trust God that his obedience to only consume what God has commanded would provide him the sustenance he needed, especially when he would be compared to the other young men dining on the richest foods.

How often do we doubt the simple nourishments that God ordains for our kids, believing instead that our children will be intellectually malnourished and ill-prepared for life without a healthy dose of the world’s latest recipe?

The results of Daniel’s test? At the end of the ten days, Daniel’s features “appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.” And because Daniel honored God, He supernaturally gave him “knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”

Now, don’t miss this. The other young men (who were Jewish boys just like Daniel) didn’t die for eating the king’s meals. They survived, but they weren’t the same. After just ten days, there was already a noticeable difference in their lives.

Christian kids can “make it” in the public school system, but they’ll never be as spiritually fit. There will always be a difference. Had Daniel dined on the king’s delicacies he would not have been the same young man. He would not have been prepared for the fiery furnace.

Is your child’s education preparing him to go through the fire?

The world wants to limit the education of young people to its own systems of belief. But a Biblical education provides “knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom.” The lie being sold to Christian families is that a “Christian education” is a limited education. In fact, the opposite is true. A secular education is the narrow-minded education. A true Biblical education encompasses all knowledge, because all knowledge is founded on God and His Word.

How great of an education can the world offer, when everything they teach is built on a lie?

Families who provide a Biblical education for their children, either in Christian school or at home, are refusing to allow their kids to defile themselves with the world’s delicacies. Home school and Christian schools may not offer the bells and whistles of the public school system, but that was never God’s mandate to His people.

We cannot allow the world to rob us of our more gifted students, to be trained by Babylon and promote a system that defies God. While the delicacies may seem tempting, and the alternative may seem bland at times, God’s promise to us is that He will supply all of our needs and that he will give us all knowledge and wisdom.

Like Daniel, all we must do is be purposed in our hearts.

Jim McKenzie has worked in public and private education and is currently a Christian school administrator at The Rock School in Gainesville, Florida.