Education is critical for the growth of the believer, just as it is in the earthly realm. In many spaces, this is seen as a worthwhile investment. One key objective of education is transformation, and it is incumbent on us to make this happen in our programmes. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Ephesians 4:22 NIV
[22] You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
Education is Key
Of course, we are conscious that it is not only that we must be educated; rather, it is the how and about what that matters. Taken out of context, as it has been in time past, one might feel that this grants leeway for certain types of discrimination. Earlier in the text, reference is made to the hardness of the heart presented by unbelievers and the gratification of sensual desires. This argument invites an unlearning of attitudes and mindsets which are destructive on multiple levels.
Self-Check
Are we harbouring destructive mindsets or attitudes that need to be unlearned?
Application
The point placed before us seems to be centred less around rote training, as it is an appeal to put the learnings into practice.
I’ve known individuals who’ve passed exams … without fully having a clue about the application of what they were taught. Did we, for example, realize that our deceitful desires include jealousy (aka covetousness) that can be transformed into character assassination, theft, malice, and murder?
Education must, therefore, help us to first engage in reflection to identify the root of our old nature. Yes, it’s sin, but we must then trim our attitudes and desires down to the underlying issues before we can address the issue. Jealousy led Cain to murder his brother. It wasn’t only jealousy at the end. It had morphed into anger. Unfiltered and undiluted.
Moreover, we recognize that there were possible underlying issues: low esteem, a sense of entitlement, shame at being upstaged, desire to be at the centre of attention that birthed jealousy. We too need to examine our own lives to determine where we need to be re-educated so that the destructive patterns might be broken.
Remember Y’shua’s teachings in Matthew 5 – 7? At one point, He said, ‘You have heard them say ‘…’, but I say.’ His counter-claims earned him the title Rabbi, as Y’shua teaches us how to live in love, taking off the old nature. What have we heard of learned that needs to be unlearned and relearned so that we, too, might live in love?
Point to Ponder
Are we ready to be tested on what we’ve been taught?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
