The Christian Perspective on Education

“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”

(2 Peter 1:3)

Because I am in a stage of life right now that education is at the forefront of my life I have decided to focus on education and knowledge in my meditations for a while. What follows is the first in this series:

Glorifying God in our Work

“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

(1 Corinthians 10:31)

God has created work for His glory and our good (Matthew 5:16). How do we glorify God at work? This list is certainly not exhaustive, but here are some practical examples.

Exultation and Education

Psalm 100

¹Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
² Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
³ Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
⁵ For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

This psalm highlights how God is to be glorified in this world. He is to be known and He is to be praised. That’s education and exultation.

Resist the Devil

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

(James 4:7-8)

I remember as far back as a week ago, when a teacher was inquiring about the above text. It is often understood that the stronger our faith becomes, the stronger Satan's attempts will be to pull us away from God. The above text, however, seems to contradict this idea. It interested me, and the following is my meditation on it.

Pour Out Your Indignation Upon Them

"Pour out Your indignation upon them, And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them."
(Psalm 69:24)

The full psalm can be viewed here.

To continue my topic on the Psalms, I meditate on Psalm 69.

It is common to experience anger at times. Whether it’s because of injustices such as racial discrimination, murder, and even someone’s wronged you. If you do the objectives of my previous posts, it is likely you will face persecution. Is it right to bristle with anger at these occurrences? How should you feel about those who have wronged you? Who persecute you endlessly? How should you think?

Declare His Glory Among the Nations

Psalm 96:

¹Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

²Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

³Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

⁴For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

⁵For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.

⁶Honour and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. ⁷Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength.

⁸Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts.

⁹Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.

¹⁰Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously."

¹¹Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;

¹²Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice

¹³before the LORD. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.

How blessed we are to know God! How blessed we are to have been saved by Christ! To be part of the elect of God! To be able to look forward with eager expectation to the Day of the Lord!

Glorifying God in our Food and Drink

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

(1 Corinthians 10:31)

In this text we are commanded to glorify God in everything. Yes, even our eating and drinking must be to the glory of Him. It is a natural response to question how to eat and drink to the glory of God.