One does not need many words to emphasize the importance of education. From infancy through youth and up into the later years of life, much effort is needed to prepare for a profession. However, developing a career is only one goal of education. Its primary objective is to prepare us to live in a way that honors humanity and our Lord.
Everyone knows that a seed is like a beginning; as beginnings have their results, so a seed has its fruit, especially when planted in the heart. As we read in the following inspired sentences, “Seed sown in the heart…grows and bears fruit” (Special Testimonies on Education, 1897, 60.2). “The bad seed of doubt…takes root and bears fruit” (The Youth’s Instructor, July 11, 1895, par. 2).
We do not need many seeds. Only one seed is sufficient. “One evil seed sown takes root, grows rank, and bears fruit, and there is an abundant harvest…. An evil seed sown cannot be easily rooted out. It spreads, and springs up in every direction, to crush out the precious seed; and if left alone it will grow strong, and shut out the rays of the sun from the precious plants, until they grow sickly and die” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 317).
What about our human natures? Do we think about and enjoy only good things? Are our tendencies and wishes all innocent, noble, and inspired? The answers to these and similar questions are found in these words of Jesus: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”* (John 3:6). Can we apply this also to children and young people? Again, here are inspired answers: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15). “The minds of children…if not occupied with that which is good and useful...will inevitably turn to what is bad” (The Adventist Home, p. 284).
The importance of education
Because of our human condition, what advice does the Word of the Lord give us? In the case of education, prevention is better than cure. We should use every opportunity to inculcate good principles and educate the young to make right choices and then commit to achieve them.
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
“You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 11:19).
Reasons for timely education
Why do we need so much education while we are young? First, because education will affect our entire lives and, second, because childhood is when we are most impressionable.
“The work of education and training should commence with the babyhood of the child; for then the mind is the most impressible, and the lessons given are remembered” (Child Guidance, p. 26.3, emphasis supplied).
“In childhood and youth the character is most impressible. The power of self-control should then be acquired. By the fireside and at the family board, influences are exerted whose results are as enduring as eternity. More than any natural endowment, the habits established in early years decide whether a man will be victorious or vanquished in the battle of life” (Child Guidance, pp. 202-203, emphasis supplied).
While children and young people do not always grasp the importance of education, we should not miss any opportunity to progress in this wonderful work of preparation for life. “Education is a matter of greater breadth than many realize: it comprises the whole process by which the child is instructed from babyhood to childhood, from childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood. As soon as a child is capable of forming an idea, his education should begin” (Child Guidance, p. 26.2).
In the British Museum in London, there is a stone as hard as steel, in which, surprisingly, is found the footprint of a sparrow. Visitors often wonder how it was possible for such a delicate track to be imprinted in this toughmaterial. The explanation: one time that material was soft enough for the slight touch of a sparrow's foot to leave its mark. When the material hardened, the imprint remained.
The same thing happens with the teaching and education we receive in the first years of life. Childhood is the most pliable period of life. At that time, it is essential to lay the foundations of our education through the study and application of the principles enshrined in the Word of God. When this is done, it is much more likely that the child will have fewer regrets later in life but will have much more confidence for the future.
For centuries, the Holy Scriptures has emphasized the importance of education from the early years. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Even secular proverbs highlight the importance of early childhood education with "the green twig is easily bent" and “as the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” Childhood and youth is therefore the best time to acquire education. This time is an excellent opportunity that should not be lost. “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you…. Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:3-5). “How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver” (Proverbs 16:16). “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding” (Proverbs 3:13).
The Spirit of Prophecy also puts great emphasis on education with this recommendation: “Train the youth, mold the character, educate, educate, educate, for the future, immortal life” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 590.1).
“The church may properly educate the young.... Both parents and teachers, by precept and example, are to so instill the principles of truth and honesty into the minds and hearts of the young, that they may become men and women true as steel to God and His cause” (Pacific Union Recorder, November 21, 1901, par. 3).
“Let every student who values the heavenly treasure put to the stretch his mental and spiritual powers, and sink the shaft deep into the mine of truth, that he may obtain the celestial gold, that wisdom which will make him wise unto salvation” (Fundamentals of Christian Education, pp. 169-170).
Men who have sought and obtained
It is not only parents and the church who have to provide for the education of children and youth. We too should desire education, for ourselves, like the great men of God did. Moses one day expressed this deep desire: “Please show me now your ways, that I may know you” (Exodus 33:13). When he presented this request to the Lord, he was not an unprepared and immature boy that had no connection with God or no experience with Him. In reality, Moses had already had the wonderful experience of hearing the God’s voice “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11). Nevertheless, Moses wanted to know the Lord better, because only such knowledge could give him hope and joy. If he felt this need, we should too!
This ardent desire was not exclusive to Moses; other men of great experience had the same wish. One of them is the Psalmist, who repeatedly exclaims, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths” (Psalm 25:4). “Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8). If we ask for the reason for this prayer, the Psalmist's answer is, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth” (Psalm 86:11). To know God is the best knowledge and the best education. Even Jesus, while talking with the disciples, said, “this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). There is no better education than the knowledge of God. Those who had this wish made great experiences.
If Moses and David, who were men of faith and experience, ardently desired to know God and His ways, how much more should we feel such a need today? How much more should children and young people who have their whole lives in front of them feel the need of education in order to make the best decisions? Knowing and obeying God is certainly the best education for present and future life.
We all know of children and young people in the Bible who greatly appreciated the education they received in their childhoods. They were not only good men, but also great instruments in the work of God. Among them are Samuel, who very early ministered in the house of God and later became a prophet; John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the coming Messiah; and especially Jesus, the Redeemer of the world, who is the greatest example of all. Of them all is written that in their youth they grew “both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man” (1 Samuel 2:26; Luke 1:80, 2:52).
Therefore, dear children and young people, do try to take the following advice—and blessings will follow. “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 8:32-35).
All Bible texts are from the English Standard Version (ESV), Crossway 2001.
By Antonino Di Franca, Italy
