01-23-2008
Dominion- Why Study Math Reason 2
By Renae
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines arithmetic:
The science of numbers, or the art of computation. The various operations of arithmetic are performed by addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
These operations are necessary to care for property. Every week, I gather payments from various labor, add them up, and write a bank deposit. Then I get the privilege of dividing the money between the bills. By the grace of God, I don’t usually deal with negative numbers, and because my husband and I have done the math, we know our limits and set our goals.
It is easy to see that finances deal with numbers, but math is important for more than balancing the checkbook. In A Guide to American Christian Education, James Kilkenny writes,
None of the vast varieties of the work of the world, either in planning, doing, or evaluating, could be done without arithmetic. It is an essential tool of dominion.
The very stuff of existence requires a knowledge of math. We need food, shelter, and clothing to survive. How can we get and keep those things without adding or subtracting, planning or evaluating? Our goals and dreams hinge upon the hard work of doing. Even the hours and minutes of life are counted “that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
Teaching our children arithmetic is imperative for without it they will be dependent upon someone to care for them and their property. However, equipping children with the “tool of dominion” grows good stewards prepared to live in freedom caring for the many blessings God bestows.
Why Study Math: Reason 1, Reason 3, Reason 4
Related posts:
