“Education is teaching our children to desire the right things.”
– Plato
The heart of education, according to Plato, is not merely the transfer of information or the sharpening of intellect—but the cultivation of desire. It is to teach the young not just what to think, but what to love. In a healthy society, children are raised to revere truth, courage, sacrifice, integrity, and God. But in a decaying society, children are often raised to idolize ease, popularity, wealth, and pleasure. The consequence is not only the decline of individuals—but the death of nations.
And this is not new.
It is the ancient rhythm of history—the Tytler Cycle—which traces the rise and fall of civilizations across ten predictable phases:
- Bondage
- Spiritual Faith
- Courage
- Liberty
- Abundance
- Selfishness
- Complacency
- Apathy
- Dependence
- Back to Bondage
At its peak, society lives in liberty, fueled by spiritual faith and courage. At its low, it drowns in dependency and bondage—physical, emotional, moral, psychological, and spiritual. This is not merely a political cycle. It is a moral and generational one. For what a parent fails to teach, a culture will define. And when a generation’s education is left to the culture of ease, the empire collapses from within.
The Direction of Desire
When a people are living in Spiritual Faith, Courage, and Liberty, they are rooted in a higher standard. They live by transcendent principles, often derived from God. These people desire righteousness, freedom, and personal responsibility. Parents in this phase teach their children to stand alone if necessary, to pursue truth at all costs, and to become servants of something greater than themselves. The soil is ripe for justice, for peace, and for virtue.
But when a society drifts into Abundance, Selfishness, and Complacency, it becomes intoxicated by comfort. Wealth and convenience begin to replace values. The spiritual compass is dulled by consumerism. The courageous parent is replaced by the permissive one. Children are no longer taught to deny themselves—they are taught to indulge themselves.
By the time a society slips into Apathy and Dependence, education becomes not a discipline but a distraction. Schools become temples of moral relativism. The media feeds off of confusion. God is removed from the curriculum. And without spiritual direction, children grow up directionless. They may be skilled, but they are not grounded. They may be informed, but they are not wise. They may be connected, but they are not whole.
And so the cycle completes: back to Bondage.
Christ’s Example: Teaching to Transform
In His time, Christ was not just a healer or a preacher—He was a teacher. But His teaching was subversive to the empires of the world. He did not teach people to blend in with Rome or the temple aristocracy. He taught them to transform from within. He didn’t just tell people what to do—He reoriented their desires. He taught people to hunger for righteousness, to take up their cross, to love their enemies, and to lay down their lives.
His method was not coercion but conversation. His goal was not compliance but conversion. And His revolution was not one of violent overthrow, but one of radical re-education: teaching people to desire the Kingdom of God.
Christ taught like a parent ought to teach—not merely commanding behavior, but awakening the soul to what is good.
When Parents Fail to Teach Desire
Tytler’s Cycle does not begin with elections or policies. It begins at the dinner table. It begins when a parent looks into the eyes of a child and either points them to truth—or leaves them to be taught by the world.
In times of liberty, the wise parent prepares their children for battle.
In times of abundance, the negligent parent prepares their children for comfort.
And in times of bondage, the broken parent wishes they had raised their children differently.
To prevent decline, parents must act as moral architects. They must teach their children to:
- Value truth over popularity
- Embrace delayed gratification over instant pleasure
- Stand in principle rather than bow to pressure
- Seek God’s approval over society’s applause
- Love freedom enough to sacrifice for it
Because if we do not teach our children to love liberty and righteousness, the culture will teach them to love bondage and comfort.
The Future of a Nation Rests on the Education of Desire
Education, as Plato understood, is not the memorization of facts—but the formation of the soul. And when a generation has no compass—when it is taught to desire entertainment over endurance, safety over sacrifice, consumption over contribution—it inevitably returns to chains.
Christ came not only to free us from sin—but to teach us to love freedom. His life modeled the blueprint for national revival: truth, courage, discipline, sacrifice, and faith.
It is time for parents, pastors, teachers, and citizens to reject the comfort of apathy and embrace the calling of spiritual re-education. For if we fail to teach our children to desire the right things, they will inherit all the wrong things.
And they will call it normal.
