First, let us note that God is pleased with our humble obedience much more than He is impressed with our intellect or wealth   (Isaiah 66:1–2; Micah 6:8).

This is not to say however that education is unimportant. God does expect us however to educate ourselves, children and desires for us to unleash the potential he put in us.

God commands parents to diligently and properly train their children (Proverbs 22:6).

God also reminds children of their responsibility to heed instruction from their parents. “Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old” (Proverbs 23:22).

Many will be shocked and intrigued to discover that The modern Sunday school movement began in 1780 when Robert Raikes began educating poor children who were otherwise overlooked by society. Most universities, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oxford, and Cambridge, were founded by Christians as religious schools. In fact, Jesus Himself learned. One of the only things we know of His childhood is that He “grew in wisdom” as He grew “in stature” (Luke 2:52). That is, the Son of God voluntarily put Himself in a position where He needed to assimilate knowledge as a man. Education was part of the process.

Education in Lawn Mowing

A few weeks back, a friend of mine stopped by my house and, as we sat in the garden talking, he commented on the state of my grass. As embarrassed as I was, I told him that I often find it hard to motivate myself to cut the grass because it takes far too long. My friend was shocked at my revelation and said if he were to cut the grass, it would only take him 10 minutes or so.

I was puzzled because I knew what I was talking about and concluded that we were doing something different. My friend spoke lovingly and passionately about his lawn mower and it was then that it hit me… I had the wrong lawn mower! I had been using the one I borrowed from my parents over 2 years ago that was at least 7 years old – we had the same tool but, different quality.

Lessons learned? We can all work as equally hard, but the quality of the tools we have often determines:

1. The pace of our progression
2. The quality of our work
3. The ease of our work (all is possible but reality is that it will be easier for others)
4. The enjoyment we get from the work

When used correctly, education is a powerful tool to unleash your potential.

A good education is a stepping stone to wealth”

• Meet Fatima and Tunde, they live in the same community, attended the same Primary School and now, the same church.
• They are both in full time jobs, are both hard working, however Fatima earns significantly more than Tunde.
• Here are some areas of life that Fatima’s income has an impact

Family

Fatima is able to go on nice holidays with her family regularly.
Fatima can afford to take time off work for family.
When the time comes, she will be in a favourable position to financially support her children AND grandchildren.

Creativity

Fatima has the time and space to think and create.
Ability to pursue interests without it extensively impacting her income or wealth.

Service

Ability to give back to community and causes

Wealth

Investment, compounding etc.
Fulfilment in her work

 On conducting some research on how education impacts health and job satisfaction, I found the following;

Job satisfaction comes from autonomy and mastery. To put it simply, you need to earn enough to have the liberty to focus on these two things
Health – money and time to look after themselves

“The findings indicate that attaining a university degree can be considered as an investment in health because general job satisfaction was shown to be a strong predictor of different aspects of health and well-being in women and men with children. Highly educated individuals are more likely to find a job where they are involved in deciding the arrangement of their own work, they perceive less moral conflicts, are more satisfied with their salaries, work environment, career opportunities and the chances of being creative. Women primarily value jobs that include potential of being creative whereas men are more concerned about the payment”

Source: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:222667/FULLTEXT01.pdf

“No wealth like education, and no poverty like ignorance”