There can be little doubt that we in the western world enjoy the highest degree of education made available to every citizen that this world has known. Nations like Japan leapt into the world of the educated after the Second World War. The United States was responsible for bringing the love of learning to Japan and to free some of the shackles of thinking that existed before the war. Through the internet and various new ways of communicating, many more people are more educated throughout the world than ever. With seven billion people now living on the earth the need to communicate clearly and effectively is paramount.
But what are the traits and character points that a truly educated person has? There are many levels or degrees of education, but to be educated does not require a PhD. The correct understanding and definition of the word is available to all who have some study behind them, but even those with many years of study may be failing in some areas that would define being educated. We could define the educated as those who through training and learning have strengthened and developed the powers of the mind. It is right to say that one can develop these powers for good or for evil and to be truly educated will not permit the development for evil.
The Bible tells of four young men who were very successful in their lives because they were truly educated. They are Daniel and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They were given new names in Babylon and they were Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego (Dan. 1:6,7). These were four young men from Judah who were brought into the court of the King of Babylon. They were to study the culture, language, history and customs of the nation. They were trained for three years and then tested. In all matters of wisdom and understanding they were found ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in his realm (Dan. 1:20). They were considered valuable assets to the kingdom. They were educated. What did that mean? How did they survive being highly esteemed in a foreign country? What were the signs to be seen? They would have known the language and religion as well as understood the culture. In all of these areas, they did not violate or infringe upon the values of Babylon. A man once noted that there are five ways to determine whether or not a person is educated. These are his ideas and you may have your own. Let us examine what he said.
It is said that one of the major pieces of evidence of a truly educated person is their use of their mother tongue. In the case of these four young men, their mother tongue was the language of the Jews, but in order for them to function in the high roles they had been given, they would have had to be correct and precise in using the language of Babylon. There is a discourse written in Daniel 2 that shows Daniel talking directly with the king. There could have been no misunderstanding in communication, so Daniel would have been diligent in learning the king's language. In our society, the English language is very badly abused. Profanity, bad pronunciation and poor sentence structure in speaking and writing brand many as uneducated if the standard for the educated is to use the language precisely and correctly. It seems our abbreviations brought about by the short messages we send on our Blackberries have butchered proper English. We can conclude that to be truly educated would require that we use our mother tongue properly.
A second measuring stick or indicator for an educated person would be the development of refined and gentle manners. The word refined means that we are not crude or vulgar. We have learned to think before we speak and act. We would have developed self-control to the point that we do not explode in anger at the slightest provocation. The educated would be trained to have developed habits of thought and action that reflect refinement. Knowledge and the gain of wisdom through walking with the wise and being observant help us develop habits that guide our responses and actions (Prov. 24:5,6). It reflects the wisdom from above (James 3:17).
A third measure of the truly educated are sound standards of appreciation of beauty and of worth, and a character based on those standards. God has made everything beautiful in its time (Eccl. 3:11). To appreciate beauty in what we see or hear is to appreciate God. Beauty and worth is not always physical and in one example, the word is used to show appreciation for the wisdom of God's word that was passed on to men (Rom. 10:15). Glad tidings of good things are always welcome in a life where troubles in health, finances or personal relationships plague us. We appreciate acts of bravery or acts of charity. We respect and honor those who serve others above and beyond the norm.
The fourth measure of the truly educated is the power and habit of reflection. In our very fast paced world, we do not find time for quiet periods of meditation or reflection on who we are and where we are going. Paul encouraged Timothy to meditate on the things he had learned (I Tim. 4:15). In the longest Psalm in the middle of the Bible, we find strong words to show that making time to think about God's laws and His judgments are of great benefit to us (Psalm 119:97,99). We develop good habits when we find something that brings satisfaction and has value in our lives. We are pleasing to God when we learn His laws, statutes and judgments and apply them in our lives. We can look back on what we have done with satisfaction, rest if we need to, and then continue to strike out for the goals that lie ahead. We are better equipped to reach that goal when we have pondered the path that leads to victory.
The fifth is the efficiency or the power to do. So many times we know what we should be doing, but something within us prevents us from acting. Paul encountered that and wrote about it in his epistle to the Romans (Rom. 7:19-24). He caught himself doing things that he knew were wrong and avoiding things that he knew were right. Paul may have been somewhat of a perfectionist and drove himself relentlessly. He may have remembered the years in which he tried to destroy the church. It does take strength (power) to change and no greater power or efficiency than when we are changing ourselves. Followers of Jesus Christ are to overcome the hindrances they have (Rev. 2,3). If we could not do that, God would not ask it of us. For some, that overcoming is a lot harder. Old habits become firmly entrenched, health, pressures from without and within all swirl within and about us. Not only do we need the power to make needed changes, we also need knowledge to know what is needed to make the corrections. Paul noted that is it God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).
All five of these attributes and areas are to be present in the life of each one of us. God expects His people to be "educated" if our definitions and understandings are correct. He expects us to shun that which is crass and vulgar and to learn to communicate clearly to one another. To be gentle in dealing with others, to appreciate His creation and plan for eternity, to meditate on these things to make them real in our hearts and to show our faith by our actions. James noted that he would show his faith by his works (James 2:17). Years and years of study and dedication does not always make a person educated. Learning is important to God as He does command us to add to our virtue and knowledge (2 Pet. 1:5). There is to be a constant development in our lives as we grow to be more like Him through Jesus Christ. We are students until the day we die as His children. Every wrong attitude, motivation, thought pattern, set of values or habit that is contrary to Him in any way needs our attention and change. Who are the educated? They are those who all their lives seek to be like Him.