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False and the True in Education
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condition in practical life. The curiosity that led them to come to
Him with prying questions, He did not gratify. All such questionings
He made the occasion for solemn, earnest, vital appeals. To those
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who were so eager to pluck from the tree of knowledge, He offered
the fruit of the tree of life. They found every avenue closed except
the way that leads to God. Every fountain was sealed save the
fountain of eternal life.
Our Saviour did not encourage any to attend the rabbinical
schools of His day, for the reason that their minds would be cor-
rupted with the continually repeated, “They say,” or, “It has been
said.” Why, then, should we accept the unstable words of men as ex-
alted wisdom, when a greater, a certain, wisdom is at our command?
That which I have seen of eternal things, and that which I have
seen of the weakness of humanity, has deeply impressed my mind
and influenced my lifework. I see nothing wherein man should be
praised or glorified. I see no reason why the opinions of worldly-wise
men and so-called great men should be trusted in and exalted. How
can those who are destitute of divine enlightenment have correct
ideas of God’s plans and ways? They either deny Him altogether
and ignore His existence, or they circumscribe His power by their
own finite conceptions.
Let us choose to be taught by Him who created the heavens and
the earth, by Him who set the stars in their order in the firmament
and appointed the sun and the moon to do their work.
It is right for the youth to feel that they must reach the highest
development of their mental powers. We would not restrict the
education to which God has set no limit. But our attainments avail
nothing if not put to use for the honor of God and the good of
humanity.
It is not well to crowd the mind with studies that require intense
application, but that are not brought into use in practical life. Such
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education will be a loss to the student. For these studies lessen his
desire and inclination for the studies that would fit him for usefulness
and enable him to fulfill his responsibilities. A practical training is
worth far more than any amount of mere theorizing. It is not enough
even to have knowledge. We must have ability to use the knowledge
aright.