Salt and Light? Good company?

Many Christian families state that a key reason for staying with the public school system is to be 'salt and light' to a pagan culture. I think this may be an excellent reason for an adult who is called to teach and who has a burden for evangelism of the lost. There are many Christian teachers in public schools who choose their work for this reason and my hat goes off to them. They are undoubtedly facing in-your-face hostility to Christian principles and yet remain there to pray for the lost, be a witness for Christ and give the best education they can to students. But the 'salt and light' concept ends there. I think it is unwise (dangerous?) to send little-trained or untrained youth to perhaps the key battleground of Humanists (the public school classroom) and expect them to be effective in winning over unbelievers, adult or student. The evangelism is working in reverse far too often as is evidenced by Christian-family youth adopting morals of their unbelieving friends.

The Bible says, "Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." (I Cor. 15:33) An environment where the majority of people are not Christian is unquestionably going to produce a different ethic than will occur when nearly all are Christian (faculty and students). The value system, or worldview, of non-Christian teachers and students will produce a 'normal' environment that is hostile to Christianity. If we believe the Bible to be true, it simply cannot be any different.

Most students like to model their teachers, especially when they are viewed as "cool." However, the morals of Christian-family youth are being corrupted when the lifestyle of their teachers reflects such anti-Christian views as gay rights, abortion rights, and sex before marriage. Believing otherwise is already proof that the warning of this scripture was ignored ... you have been deceived.

taken from the Nehemiah Institute, Inc.site.