While very few would suggest that education is unimportant, it can be overrated. Most of the adults I knew as a child had little formal education, yet they were respected in my neighborhood. Anyone who worked hard, had a deep faith and understood life from the inside was trusted and revered. Like Jesus, many of my neighbors spoke with authority.
Jesus did not seem to worry much about the education of the the men he called to be his apostles, but the leaders of the Jewish people seemed to think this was a soft spot in the life of the new community. Anxious to stop Jesus' disciples from speaking about their Lord, they called them in and threatened them, only to have Peter and John insist that they had no choice but to speak of Jesus. Clearly, Peter and John were not worried about their lack of education and were not intimidated by threats from the Jewish leaders.
It is always good to take a few moments and ask ourselves to whom we are most likely to listen. Do the highly educated intimidate us into silence about important matters? Are we unwilling to speak of our faith to people of power and prestige in the community?
Today, take time to listen to someone you might otherwise ignore.
What most impresses you about the faith you witness everyday?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be discreet in your comments. I will monitor the comments, and only exclude those that are patently offensive.