What does God say about Education?

What does God say about Education? Does God require us to go to school? What is God’s desire when it comes to attending college; must we attend college? If we are to attend college, does God have a specific course He wants me to take?

Will God be grieved if I don’t attend school? There are countless questions that we ask ourselves about God’s will when it comes to our education.

You may have heard some preachers demand that we should excel in school for us to please God. Others say school doesn’t matter when it comes to serving God.

Each of these preachers must have quoted scriptures to back up their argument. The most common reference is that of Jesus; He never went to school.

For the scholars, they like quoting Apostle Paul who had advanced in the education of that time. All through the Bible, we see examples of people who were learned serving God and some who were not learned who also served God.

With such contradicting examples about education in the Bible, it makes the work of knowing whether God wants you to be in school difficult.

Sometimes you may believe that school really doesn’t matter but other times you think otherwise.

I struggled with this debate for three years. I joined college and dropped out after my first year. I believed attending college was my choice and had nothing to do with God’s will.

But later on I went back to college once I understood God’s will when it comes to education.

In this article, I want to share with you the revelation I got about school.

What does God say about Education?

1. God Encourages the Gaining of Knowledge

God encourages His children to gain knowledge. He laments through the Prophet Hosea that His people perish for lacking knowledge.

The very Bible we read is a book of knowledge. God wants us to gain knowledge about Him and spiritual things. It is the knowledge we gain from the Bible that will build our faith.

Faith comes from knowledge and the Bible is very clear when it says that it is impossible for us to please God without faith.

This means that we need to gain knowledge to build our faith for us to relate with God.

In the book of Jeremiah, God warns the rich not to boast of their riches and the wise not to boast of their wisdom. He says that if anyone wants to boast he should boast of the knowledge He has about God; that He is a loving God who exercises justice.

The gaining of knowledge is encouraged all through the Bible. We are asked to meditate on the word of God which is the law of God. God wants us to have the knowledge of His law.

I know right now you are thinking to yourself, well, that is true but of course I don’t have to go to school to learn about God.

2. School Doesn’t Teach about God

Most of the knowledge we gain in school is carnal. In fact, some of the knowledge we gain is against God. Take an example of the evolution theory that we are taught.

There are other lessons we learn in school that harden our hearts against God. Don’t the scientists who argue that God doesn’t exist base their arguments on the knowledge they gained in school?

In schools run by people who believe in other gods, they teach students to believe in the false gods they serve. Some institutions even offer scholarships with the aim of recruiting students into the worship of other gods.

And even in schools where they teach about the Bible, most of the teachings in those schools are barely helpful to one’s salvation.

When I was in high school, I served as the Christian union chairperson but I dropped the subject of Christian Religious Education.

My friends asked me why I didn’t do Christian Religious Education yet I was the leader of the Christian union.

My explanation was simple; the teaching of the subject is aimed at getting a good grade rather than transforming the lives of the learner.

Never did I hear that one day after the Christian Religious Education class a student said he wants to give his life to Christ.

The fact is that education is meant to make students employees not to transform their lives by teaching them about God.

So, should the children of God keep away from school?

3. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher

God sent us the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. The Holy Spirit is our teacher. Through the Holy Spirit, we learn about God and about everyday life.

It is the Spirit of God who continues to teach us what Jesus began teaching when He was on earth. Is there any better teacher than Jesus? Can anyone teach better things than what the Holy Spirit teaches?

Certainly not!

For us, the children of God, we are to rely on the Holy Spirit for learning. It is only the Spirit of God who teaches us with the aim of saving our lives.

All other teachers teach us with ill motives. The serpent gave Eve knowledge that made her life and that of Adam miserable.

Today, the world we live in is full of wickedness. False teachers have led many people astray using doctrines taught to them by demons.

We cannot rely on such teachers if we want to know God and get salvation.

Does this mean that we say goodbye to education?

4. God uses Education to Teach us Humility

School is not going to teach us about God but God requires us to attend school primarily for us to learn humility.

It is impossible for us to serve God without humility. Jesus, who was by far the best servant to God, managed to serve perfectly because His humility was perfect.

Jesus humbled Himself and came to live on earth even though He is the owner of all creation. While on earth, Jesus didn’t demand to be served by men but He served men.

For us, we have a perfect teacher; the Holy Spirit but still God requires us to humble ourselves to the physical teachers He has put over us.

It is impossible for us to learn from the Holy Spirit if we cannot learn from our physical teachers. The physical teachers are put in our lives by God for us to understand the pattern of learning.

Once we have understood the pattern of learning, we can then learn from the Holy Spirit.

For example, in school there is a period for learning and a period for doing examinations. Likewise, in the lessons of the Holy Spirit there is a time for learning and a time for tests.

If you hate tests in school, you will hate tests of the Holy Spirit too.

School is meant to instill in you discipline to do tests faithfully so that when you go to the Holy Spirit for lessons, you will do His tests faithfully.

Even though school teaches us carnal things, it plays a key role in helping us understand the pattern of learning.

Just as there are levels of learning in education, there are also levels of learning in the teachings by the Holy Spirit.

Just as there are specializations in education, there are specializations in the teachings by the Holy Spirit.

I hope you now understand why God requires us to go to school.

5. Use Education to Serve God

The primary goal of God on earth is to reconcile men to Himself through our Lord Jesus Christ. Since the world is used to the education system, it makes sense for God to require His children to go through the same education system for them to win people of the world to Him.

People of the world do not know God. They do not understand the things of God. The only way we can reach to them is through the things they know of which education is one of them.

For a scientist to listen to you talking about God, you must be a greater scientist than him. Doctors will be more likely to believe in God if you tell them about God when you are a qualified doctor.

School also enables us to mingle with people of the world. It is through the mingling that we can share with them the word of God.

Since students in school are in the ‘learning mode’, it is easy to teach them about Jesus. Schools are a great place to win souls.

God wants us to be there and use every opportunity to win people to Christ.

For every individual, God will direct you in what field He wants you to venture into in school. Before you get direction about the field to venture into, use the opportunity you have to reach out to other students and let them hear about the good news.

God bless you!