We live in a world that is driven towards education. Our young people are constantly reminded of how they need a college education to get ahead in this world and that is not all bad. Education can be a good tool when used properly. The Bible does say to "study to show yourself approved unto God" and I don't see that as being relegated to the scriptures. We should be willing to put a little effort into study. However, it seems the primary motivation for most who go to college is not so they can learn but so they can make more money. This isn't a bad idea either. I once heard a minister say these words: "Go to school. Get all the education you can. Why work for $7 an hour when you can work for $40 an hour. It's the same day." That motivated me to want to go back to school. Truthfully, it probably has been what has kept me going a time or two. So the money motivation may not be completely bad.
Yet money shouldn't be our primary motivation for anything. (Jesus did say that the love of money is the root of all evil.) When it comes to study we should study for the love of learning. When was the last time you picked up a book just for the joy of reading. When was the last time you were inquisitive enough to look up the answer to a question you might have been asked and didn't know. This is the love of learning.
Now I know everyone wasn't raised in a home like mine. If I asked my mom or grandmother how to spell a word I had to look it up in the dictionary. If I asked a science or trivia question I had to look it up in the encyclopedia or find a book in the library that answered the question. While this was annoying to a child at times, it did instill in me a love for learning. That love for learning has done me well through the years. It has helped me meet interesting people and experience other cultures. It helped me secure a job in education before I had completed my degree. I can't even begin to tell you how much it has helped me in the ministry and in teaching God's word. Yes, the love of learning has been one of the greatest friends I've had.
Proverbs 25: 2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." God often hides information from us so that we will dig it out. Jesus spoke in parables, not to hide his word from people, but so that those who really wanted to know him would question him for the meaning and get to know him better.
I am always honored when someone makes a comment about how smart I am. (Believe it or not, it has happened.) A time or two, after I have taught a Sunday school lesson or given a speech, someone will call me professor Jones or Dr. Jones even though I don't have that degree behind my name. Yet, I am not especially smart. I know many men and women who are far more intellectually gifted than I am. But there is one thing I do have. I am not afraid to study just for the love of learning.
One of the highlights of my life is that I get to work with young children. I am in administration so I don't get to spend as much one on one time with the children as I'd like. But the reason I love children so much is because they are like sponges. They soak up everything we teach them and then come back for more. They are like open books always ready to be written in. Those who care for them are teachers even when they don't realize they are teaching. Yes, we must teach children to character and integrity. We must teach them self esteem and respect for others. We should teach them to love God and his word. But in all that, let's not forget to teach them to read and study just for the joy of learning. If they learn to do this, the success will not be far away.
Shalom,
Sullivan Jones
Yet money shouldn't be our primary motivation for anything. (Jesus did say that the love of money is the root of all evil.) When it comes to study we should study for the love of learning. When was the last time you picked up a book just for the joy of reading. When was the last time you were inquisitive enough to look up the answer to a question you might have been asked and didn't know. This is the love of learning.
Now I know everyone wasn't raised in a home like mine. If I asked my mom or grandmother how to spell a word I had to look it up in the dictionary. If I asked a science or trivia question I had to look it up in the encyclopedia or find a book in the library that answered the question. While this was annoying to a child at times, it did instill in me a love for learning. That love for learning has done me well through the years. It has helped me meet interesting people and experience other cultures. It helped me secure a job in education before I had completed my degree. I can't even begin to tell you how much it has helped me in the ministry and in teaching God's word. Yes, the love of learning has been one of the greatest friends I've had.
Proverbs 25: 2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." God often hides information from us so that we will dig it out. Jesus spoke in parables, not to hide his word from people, but so that those who really wanted to know him would question him for the meaning and get to know him better.
I am always honored when someone makes a comment about how smart I am. (Believe it or not, it has happened.) A time or two, after I have taught a Sunday school lesson or given a speech, someone will call me professor Jones or Dr. Jones even though I don't have that degree behind my name. Yet, I am not especially smart. I know many men and women who are far more intellectually gifted than I am. But there is one thing I do have. I am not afraid to study just for the love of learning.
One of the highlights of my life is that I get to work with young children. I am in administration so I don't get to spend as much one on one time with the children as I'd like. But the reason I love children so much is because they are like sponges. They soak up everything we teach them and then come back for more. They are like open books always ready to be written in. Those who care for them are teachers even when they don't realize they are teaching. Yes, we must teach children to character and integrity. We must teach them self esteem and respect for others. We should teach them to love God and his word. But in all that, let's not forget to teach them to read and study just for the joy of learning. If they learn to do this, the success will not be far away.
Shalom,
Sullivan Jones