“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15. An incredibly loaded scripture!
II Timothy 3:7 “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
II Timothy 2:3a “Thou therefore endure hardness…”
II Timothy 2:7 “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”
I have chosen a few words of wisdom from the Apostle Paul, a seasoned warrior for Christ, who at one time rejected Christ with a vengeance. A man who had experience on “both sides of the track”. He refers to Timothy as “My Son”. Not his biological son…nonetheless, “my son”.
When Paul refers to enduring hardness, what do you suppose he thought of? The pain he imposed to faithful souls when he mercilessly committed them to torture, and even death?
Or do you think he was referring to the night he and Silas sat in stocks in the inner prison, singing and praising God? Not knowing that the God of Heaven would send an earthquake to shake the foundations, crack doors, destroy the strongholds. When the quake had taken place, Paul and Silas waited. They were at liberty! They could have run. But no. They endured hardness. They waited for the jailer, who saw no option, save suicide, supposing that all the prisoners in his charge had escaped. Paul stayed him from the deed, and then, together with Silas, introduced the jailer to salvation. Enduring hardness? I’ll say!
What is education? Grade school? Secondary school? College? Trade school? All of the above. Or none of the above. Education is the process of becoming approved unto God.
Before the affluent times we live in today, there were church members who lusted for an education. With education came prestige. The letters behind their names, indicating profession and degree, were greatly valued. Doctors, professors, engineers were society’s view of success. A lowly farmer or tradesperson was not considered glamorous at all. Their line of work was viewed as one of mere subsistence.
Our conservative society sometimes feared education. We feared the honour the world awarded successful titles; one that was considered a stigma in our circles. We were afraid to “feed” our vulnerable youth into the jaws of secular education. I believe this vision holds true today, as it should. “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
When I was a boy, I recall that my father feared water. He himself was a weak swimmer. He would try to teach us how to swim. He tried to explain the need to relax. Unfortunately, his own tension was transmitted to our bodies. Not one of us five children ever became swimmers. Finally, we were instilled with the fact that if we fell out of a boat into 8 feet of water, we would drown. That was, in all likelihood, accurate. We are people who prefer the course of least resistance. Not so much in areas we excel in. A school boy who excels in sports often advocates more recess. A young lady who aspires to be the lead singer in a trio sung at a wedding endorses music class. Sometimes we grow up in financially-challenged households. At times, this situation can encourage a son to have an inordinate affection for money. Timothy was encouraged to apply himself. Not to “ever learn and never come to knowledge,” but rather to “study to show thyself approved unto God”.
I have a friend who recently made a profound statement. Early on in our acquaintance, he introduced himself as a “conservative deacon” in his congregation. His profound thought was, “The academic standard in our parochial schools in slipping. We will need to address this.” We live in an industrial age. We have arrived in an era where intelligent hard-working, properly-coached, academically-handicapped people can become financially wealthy in the same amount of time as it takes a medic to complete his schooling and graduate. This evidence abounds.
We have among us sons of affluent fathers who may never experience a need to budget personal expenses. We have young “executives” or “tradesmen” or “independent business owners” that mock a young man who, on his parents’ request, is disciplining himself to complete his grade twelve. This is not frivolous. This is developing another type of stability in our beloved church. Success isn’t measured in dollars. We are rearing sons who don’t want to carry rebar and dig trenches. They want to start with running the skid steer. Apprenticeship means nothing to some of our young men. They don’t want any part with mundane discipline.
I’m not advocating a grade 12 education. I’m not advocating a nursing career. I’m not advocating university educated scholars. I am advocating clear vision. I am advocating discipline. I am advocating a clear concept of a changing world. Together with wealth comes responsibility. The Bible states clearly…”to whom much is given much will be required.” (from Luke 12:48). Your bank balance does not have any gauge on your wisdom.
James 3:13 “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.”James 3:17 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”
