Enjoy Life, Enjoy God

A GOOD EDUCATION

December 23, 2009

We are a people who value getting a good education for ourselves, and the next generations. Yet there may be much more to a good education than a few diplomas or degrees.

"Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

-1 Kings 3:7-9 TNIV

"The wisdom of Solomon" is a common phrase uttered amongst Christians. Yet early on Solomon knew that he needed more than the everyday preparation to rule the people of God as king. So he asked for wisdom; he asked to know right and wrong; he prayed for a skill package far beyond an MBA or a Ph.D.

Degrees and diplomas today are nearly indispensable, but let us not be fools. Therapists and sociologists speak these days of "emotional intelligence," in other words, the sort of stuff of which Solomon prayed. A good education is no substitute for wisdom, for knowing how to treat human beings, for knowing and doing the right things--it's true for us, and for the next generations.
Joyfully,

Dale Patterson