Basic HTML Version
382
The Beginning of the End
in educating the youth, to cooperate with God’s plan. Every ability,
every attribute with which the Creator has given us, is to be used for
His glory and for the uplifting of others.
If this principle were given the attention it deserves, there would
be a radical change in some current methods of education. Instead
of appealing to pride and selfish ambition, teachers would try to
awaken love for goodness, truth, and beauty. The student would not
seek to excel others but to fulfill the Creator’s purpose and receive
His likeness. Instead of being driven by the desire to exalt self,
which dwarfs and dishonors the mind, the student would be directed
to the Creator.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowl-
edge of the Holy One is understanding.” (
Proverbs 9:10
). The goal
of the teacher’s work should be to impart this knowledge and to
mold the character in harmony with it. The psalmist says, “All Your
commandments are righteousness”; and “through Your precepts I
get understanding.” (
Psalm 119:172, 104
). Through the Bible and
the book of nature we are to gain a knowledge of God.
[302]
The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects on which it
dwells. If occupied only with trivial matters, it will become dwarfed
and weak. If never required to grapple with difficult problems, it
will almost lose the power of growth. The Bible has no rival as an
educating power. It came fresh from the fountain of eternal truth,
and a divine hand has preserved its purity through all the ages. It
lights up the far-distant past, where human research tries in vain to
penetrate. Only here can we find a history of our race untarnished by
human prejudice or pride. Here are recorded the struggles, defeats,
and victories of the greatest people this world has ever known. Here
the curtain that separates us from the unseen world is lifted, and
we see the conflict of the opposing forces of good and evil, from
the first entrance of sin to the final triumph of righteousness. All of
this is to reveal the character of God. The student is brought into
fellowship with the infinite mind. Such a study cannot fail to expand
and energize the power of the mind.
The Bible unfolds principles that are the cornerstone of society
and the protection of the family. If studied and obeyed, the Word of
God would give to the world men and women of strength and solid