Cause God Said So

by Jennie Smith, Secondary Assistant Principal

One of the more common questions I'm asked as a teacher is: (can I get  a drum roll please?)
Why do I have to learn this?

This question can take many forms.
     When will I ever use this in my real life?
     What is the point of learning this?
     Why, Mrs. Smith, why, why, why?! 

Have you ever been faced with that question from your kids?  In the midst of a challenging project or homework assignment, you may find that your children wonder what the purpose is of learning and school.  I'll tell you the top two Biblical reasons I give to my students and children - feel free to use them as needed with your own kids.

The first reason comes from Genesis 1:28.  The New International Version reads like this:  "God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' ”

God commands Adam and Eve, among other things, to subdue the earth.  The King James Version uses the word "dominion" - Adam and Eve are to have dominion over the earth.  The idea of dominion is to have control or rule.  My question to my students is: how can you have dominion over something you know nothing about?  Imagine someone becoming a CEO of a company, but he has no knowledge of what the company does or how to run a business.  How successful  can that boss be?  God has called us to subdue the earth and the first step of doing so is learning about it. 

So, reason #1 to the question "Why do I need to learn this?" is "God says so."
Reason #2 to the question is "Jesus did so."

We don't know too much about the childhood of Jesus.  But from the small portions we do know, we see that Jesus had a desire to learn.  When his parents couldn't locate him when he was 12 years old, they found him in the temple learning from the rabbis.  Luke 2:46 says "After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions" (NIV). It follows to say that Jesus "grew in wisdom and stature." (Luke 2:52, NIV).  So, if Jesus grew in wisdom, and sat and learned and asked questions from the teachers of his day, so should the rest of us.


God said so and Jesus did so -  two good reasons to do just about anything, including learning the tough stuff.