I notice that government leaders have emphasized academic success. This is a good thing since academic success increases chances of a good career. However, I don't think educational success by itself should be the goal of a child's life.

    First, academic success in itself is not a godly goal. We should commend our children for the diligence required for to make a good grade. That diligence is commended by God, as attested in scriptures, and is therefore the Godly goal. Academic success may also have something to do with a child's makeup (or maybe environment), which means it is a gift of God and the child should be taught to have gratitude for that gift. Some parents who value education teach their children to study hard to become successful in life, success being having a good job, and a good house. Those are blessings, but pursued in itself leads to a corrupt and selfich generation.  

     This brings me to my second point. In building a prosperous society, what is often overlooked, is the importance of relational success. It is overlooked because many people would rather talk about raising our children's math and science scores, instead of making them better persons- persons who stick by their commitments, persons who show compassion, etc. Better persons make for a better society.

     Children must be taught to value other people, which is the key to relational success. People on the left and the right of the political spectrum has been guilty of being bad role models for our children. Look at how politicians, instead of working to make a better society, would oppose their opponents plan just because they are of a different political party. That antagonistic reaction to others show a lack of concern for relationships. Although it is good to voice our convictions, we must also value others with a different conviction. This may take the form of recognizing that the person who disagree with us has something valuable to say.

    The importance of relational success in God's heart is shown on the cross. The cross does not directly address the problems that our society spends time thinking about- the economy, health care, etc. Many are probably thinking, what is the big deal about God sending his son to the world? It apparently did not solve the world's problems. However, The cross did solve the problem of broken relationships, which is ultimately the root cause of social problems.

a) The cross solved the problem of the broken relationship between God and man. Because there is peace between God and man, there is hope for a better world, a world where there is no more death, the ultimate social problem. The biblical teaching is that those who believe in Jesus are at peace with God and will have life without end.

b) The cross solved the problem of broken relationship among mankind. The cross showed the way towards restored relationship. The way of the cross is the way of humility. The cross tells us that God is a God who is humble, who is willing to leave the comforts of heaven and give his life for others. That is the way to relational success, to follow Jesus to the cross.