Student Article: "A Proper Response to a Proper Education"
By GCCA 11th Grader, Brianna Hurt
In order to properly respond to education, we must first define some terms. What is a proper education? According to The Webster’s Dictionary, 1828, a proper education is,
“The bringing up, as of a child, instruction, formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give a child a good education in manners, arts, and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.”
In a proper education our whole person is being transformed. We are being trained in manners, theology, arts, and sciences. According to this definition of education, is not our response to education included? We have been trained that “actions speak louder than words,” and, indeed, that is true. So we might mumble a half-hearted thanks, but that doesn’t express true gratitude; and what is the point of doing so? The Westminster Shorter Catechism says “man’s primary purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” So how do we live that in our reaction to being trained to be a light in deep darkness in the world around us?
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” - Matthew 5:14-16.
Christians are called to be the salt and light of the world, a city on a hill. We are commanded to live in light of what we believe. We are called to courageously go out and live in the world and not be of the world. Christians are called to be dangerous to wickedness; Christians are commanded to know our Bibles, which makes Christians deadly to the idols of society around them. Being a dangerous Christian is a result of living out Biblical theology. One proper response to a proper education is being a doer of the Word, not just a hearer.
Another proper response is having hearts of gratitude. We need to be thankful to God first and foremost; for blessing us with this opportunity, that is so rare in today’s society, for giving us parents that are fulfilling their God-given roles to guide, lead, and train their children, the next generation of immortal souls, to love and serve the LORD (Proverbs 22:6). We need to be grateful to our parents for all they sacrifice to give us a proper education, for taking their calling as parents seriously. We need to be thankful for our teachers for sacrificing to serve us and our families, for all the time they dedicate to prepare for their lessons. We should be thankful for our pastors who faithfully minister to us each Lord’s Day and all they do in preparation for their sermons. There is so much we have to be thankful for, I have only begun to scratch the surface. But our hearts should be overflowing with gratitude.
We need to be cautious and conscious of what is filling our hearts and minds. “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life” Proverbs 4:23. What are we filling our minds with? What is it that we are spending most of our time thinking about? What are our distractions that take us away from meditating on God and His Word? Whatever we fill our hearts with will become evident by the way we act. We need to be ready for that and ask if that’s what we want to look like. Is this behavior honoring God, and showing the world what it looks like to be a Christian?
We need to have attitudes of humility. A big temptation for those that receive a proper education is to have an elitist attitude and become puffed up. Don’t be prideful, rather remember Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” As Christians, being continually sanctified by the grace of God, we are called to look more like Christ. Philippians 2:5-8 says,
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
We should not become vain because we receive a proper education, rather a proper education points us to God and we should be humbled by it.
When you receive a proper education, you are being given an arsenal of highly dangerous weapons. If we are not careful to do all Soli Deo Gloria, then we are turning our swords against the very God who created us. Not only are those attempts to pretend you know better then God foolish and futile, you are also making yourself a well-trained mechanism for lawlessness. We are being giving a tremendous gift and responsibility with this education. All of creation points to God, however many try to twist the truth to try to make creation point to anything but God. Many also try to use good logical or rhetorical skills to promote an agenda contrary to what Scripture teaches. These are futile attempts to ignore the God who created them. There are many well-read scholars who fit into to this category. We must actively seek to honor and glorify God with all the gifts he has blessed us with. In order to accomplish this, we must repent and turn to Christ. Only by the grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is repentance and sanctification possible.
We need to do everything we do for God’s glory ALONE, we need to be doers of the Word and a light for the gospel. We need to be grateful, having our hearts overflowing with thankfulness. We need to be extremely cautious and mindful of what is filling our hearts and minds. We need to be humble. We need to be cautious to not become highly trained weapons for lawlessness.