MIF 18:3 (May-June 1986)
Knowledge and Morality
“For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6).
For many young people, May or June marks the completion of their formal education. For others it is a pause in pursuit of the education they need to prepare themselves for a career. For the rest of us, education is something that never really ceases.
The correlation between knowledge and morality is the theme of the book of Proverbs. The wise man in Proverbs has good relations with God and man, and he plans his life on Scriptural principles. Only three of the Ten Commandments are violations of civil law, but the educated Christian will see them all as a guide to holy living in Christ. Education will develop the power to think and to love knowledge, not simply to acquire and memorize facts. It should also teach us to hunger and thirst after righteousness, not merely to do the right thing.
The moral standards in the Bible are not flexible and it is our personal obligation as Christians in the society in which we live to be morally enlightened and motivated. A good secular education can help us resist the social pressures that tempt us to deviate from the moral principles of God’s Word. All knowledge comes from God and a good education, combined with a profound and humble reverence for God (i.e., “fear of the Lord”), will help us to stand firm on the rock of revealed truth in God’s Word and give us direction in a world that is morally and spiritually unstable.
“And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).