Kristi here.
In Regency England, education levels varied drastically from class to class and even person to person. For some people, it was the lack of availability that limited their education. If the family couldn’t afford tutors, then the children could only learn as much as their parents or governess knew.
Churches were starting to make some basic schooling available but it was limited and crowded and served many purposes besides just education.
Most of the public schools for young boys (which are much closer to the idea of private school in the US, or more to the point boarding school) had scholarship spots, but they could be difficult to get if you didn’t have tutors to get you up to a certain level before you applied.
Education was really reserved for the elite and well-to-do in Regency England.
This isn’t the case anymore. At least not in first world countries such as the US and UK. Now, everyone can attend school, is even required to by law. You even have options! Public school, private school, magnet schools, home schooling, online schooling, the possibilities are nearly endless on ways for you to get your education.
Options continue even as we age. College, vocational schools, apprenticeships, community classes, continuing education, online tutorials, even newspapers and documentaries put information at our fingertips.
Sadly, many of us take it for granted.
Nearly every teenager is back in school by now. Where I live, they’ve been in for a month already. Most of them gripe about it. They complain about having to go to school and learn. They skip. They slack. Some of them fail a class and couldn’t care less.
Don’t get me wrong, I know there are some that dedicate themselves to getting to most out of their education. But even kids with high grades can be coasting through school, doing just enough to get by. I know. I was one.
I know adults that have gotten within fifteen hours of a college degree and quit. Not because of money or family obligations. Just quit because they didn’t want to go anymore.
God isn’t happy with this. And as with most things, it drives down to the motive and spirit behind our clinging to ignorance.
“Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. And even more will be expected of the one who has been entrusted with more.” Luke 12:48
Based on the gift they have received, everyone should use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10
God has given us the opportunity to learn things. Not just as scholars, but as people. We have access to the internet, to libraries, community and continuing education classes.
Several years ago there was a commercial for a college scholarship fund. The slogan was, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
When God made us in His image, he gave us a mind that could think and learn and be used to make better and wiser decisions using that knowledge.
All too often I find myself wasting that opportunity. I don’t want to take the time to research something, so I let someone else do the leg work and the thinking and just accept their conclusion. Sometimes it just feels safer to be ignorant, so I choose not to open my mind to the moments around me.
I don’t think that’s living up to what God required when he gave me a working brain, free from disease or other conditions that make thinking harder. I don’t think that makes me a good manager of what He gave me.
Be a good manager. Take every opportunity to learn something new. You never know when God will expect you to use it.
Have you ever learned something that seemed pointless at the time but later came in handy?
Originally posted 2012-09-07 10:00:00.