Education, the equalizer

They'll never make it if they don't exercise discipline, work hard and—most significantly—get an education.

Yes, President-elect Obama broke the racial barrier. As noted here previously, that is a moral victory for America. It doesn't mean we have overcome racism in our land. (Witness the pre-election deluge of race-baiting e-mails regarding Obama.) But it does mean we have made huge, almost unimaginable, progress toward overcoming racial barriers.

Every American should  rejoice in this. No matter if you are a  Republican or Democrat. Nor if you are African-American, Latino, Asian-American or white. Even if you bitterly oppose the next president's policies and wish his opponent had won. The good, undeniable news is we have progressed. More and more, America is becoming a land of opportunity for people of all races.

Education is key

Still, Obama could not have been a candidate for president, much less won the presidency, had he not received a good education. For Obama, the quest for a solid education began when he was a child, and his mother would get him up early in the morning to go over his homework. He's told how, when he would complain, she would respond, "Well, this is no picnic for me either, buster."

Those hours of study and his mother's investment in his education paid off. He went on to graduate from Columbia University and Harvard University, two Ivy League schools. Without those degrees, no amount of charm and forceful oratory would have paid off in the presidency. Obama's education is the key that has unlocked the doors to his success.

Education lessons

We should take several lessons from this:

• Parents and grandparents must realize that, except for leading their children to faith in Christ and developing their moral character, helping them achieve a strong education is the most important gift they can give them.

If you want your child or grandchild to achieve any kind of success, educate them. Start early, by reading to them every night. Help them with their homework. Let them know you expect them to do their best in school. Get involved in their schools. Get to know their teachers and understand what they're supposed to learn each semester. Drill into their young mindst he importance of education. They may think they don't need it, but chances are, they're not going to get rich as a professional athlete or rock star. But people who stay in school and get a bachelor's degree can take care of themselves in life.

• As Christians, we must realize helping young people finish school is one of the ways we minister to people whom Jesus called "the least of these."

Numerous studies have shown that education is the most dominant factor that determines whether Americans live in poverty or not. We appropriately offer ministries to alleviate the suffering of impoverished people. This we must do. But if we channel efforts to educate children, we can lift them, and their children, and their grandchildren from poverty.

Congregations can provide the most comprehensive, powerful workforce to help poor children and their parents by ensuring that every child in the community at least graduates from high school. Baylor University's LEAF program is a terrific model for doing this.  Another scalable program that can involve local churches is KidsHeart, a joint program of Buckner International and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, that provides education mentors for children in schools within a church's community.

• As citizens, we must realize educating the coming generations is vital to their future—and ours. Too often, people seem to lose interest in education after their children graduate from high school. But  education is the key to the future  welfare or a city, region, state or nation.

Texas is falling behind other states economically because we are falling behind in education. The United States also is falling behind,  particularly in science, math, engineering and technology. If we want our state and nation to be vibrant in the future, we will emphasize education now.

More significantly, education isn't an economic issue as much as it's a moral issue. Every child within our sphere of influence deserves to be educated.