Lesson 67. Pride in Knowledge and Education

Knowledge of a particular science makes a person literate and well informed in that field, as well as in many other matters. Every sphere of human activity and livelihood requires specialized professional knowledge and skills. When applied in practice, these shape the structure of society and raise its standard of living. We commonly call such developed nations civilized. An abundance of wealth makes it possible to purchase the knowledge and technologies of other countries and invest them in the development of one’s own. During the past fifty years, our world has made astonishing discoveries in science and technology.

The development of education has made people literate and knowledgeable in many matters. And the whole world, like a single living organism, functions harmoniously in the realms of trade and knowledge while pursuing discoveries and inventions.

Education has elevated people and taught many of them to think constructively and make logically sound decisions on every issue, employing knowledge, intellect, and intuition in the process.

Yet it is also interesting that all this knowledge and education has not been able to solve the problem of sin. Wickedness has become far more sophisticated and concealed, but it has not lost its deadly, destructive power. Sin has been given the status of something natural and, in certain areas, has been placed within the framework of law, with wickedness regarded as something inevitable in human behavior. Such laws protect a person’s freedom to sin and encourage him to act accordingly.

Although knowledge and education often elevate a person by giving him the opportunity to apply his skills in practice and bring them to life, without interaction with Divine power such knowledge leads people to pride and makes them arrogant.

If we examine media statistics and analyze which programs are most popular and in greatest demand, we can see that everything which exalts and glorifies human intelligence is especially sought after by viewers. Producers are willing to pay large sums for intelligence and knowledge, promoting the most advanced people in this field as examples to imitate.

In most cases, knowledge and education contain no evil in themselves when they are directed toward improving well-being and developing society. But they bring spiritual pride into the lives of many people. A person begins to consider himself better than others or even better than everyone. The consequences of such conclusions are not long in coming.

Who plans wars? Who controls political processes? Who possesses the world’s money? The answer is simple: educated people who have specialized knowledge within their sphere of influence. The very structure of society is arranged in such a way that kind and God-fearing people have no place at the helm of power. There are exceptions, however. They occur when people who have attained power begin to believe in God and obey His laws.

Reading such a conclusion about knowledge and education, one might think that they are a great evil and that all educated people are bad. I am not claiming this. When we trace the path of humanity’s development, we can see that the model of ruling people’s minds includes the idea that simple and uneducated people are easier to control and to indoctrinate through the media with particular values and views of life. If the people are given bread and entertainment, there is no need to worry that they will become dissatisfied. But educated people pose an enormous problem for such politicians, because they are able to foresee and calculate the future and articulate its sorrowful consequences and prospects.

Only the Bible has survived every kind of regime and social structure, reaching our day unchanged and carrying within it true information about sin, God, and the meaning of life. It tells us about reliable knowledge and gives the most correct education to everyone who begins to study it humbly, seeking to understand God’s character and the plan of salvation.

Let us turn our attention to the beginning of existence, when there was no sin in the universe and peace and love reigned everywhere. God stood at the head of this order of the universe, giving power and influence to whomever He desired. God had an assistant, an anointed cherub who was the crown of beauty and wisdom. But because of the abundance of his knowledge and education, this being’s heart became proud. He decided that he surpassed the other created beings and, under a mask of godliness, began sowing the seeds of rebellion. He was the first revolutionary, and he found supporters who trusted his wisdom and knowledge. These angels supported Satan in his rebellion against God and the Son of God. As a result, war and division occurred. The temptations of this rebellion spread to earth, where they were accepted by our first parents and became part of human society.

But God did not leave fallen humanity in ignorance. He established His order and gave humanity His education through the study of the science of salvation, which reveals the beauty of God’s character and teaches love.

Only in the light of agape love do I begin to see our world through God’s eyes and understand what is happening in it. Love gives me proper orientation in every science and every field of knowledge. And I understand that God knows everything in every sphere of human activity. He understands every science better than anyone else. And the Lord gives special wisdom to His loving children—the wisdom to see what is necessary for the salvation of a human soul and what brings it harm and death.

The science of love is the highest knowledge. It gives life to those who possess it and opens unlimited opportunities for personal development without making a person arrogant. Love does not boast of knowledge and education, but uses them for the good of others, seeking to understand how it can best serve people with this knowledge and make their lives more beautiful and interesting.

Love does not exalt itself and does not boast. In all its perfection, fullness, and power, it harms no one but is directed toward helping and building up. When love enters any science or field of knowledge, it gives it true meaning and makes it suitable for the good of humanity. But everything destructive and dangerous to life, love drives from its presence or else leaves it behind.

The Bible contains the true science of love. It never ceases to amaze minds that seek knowledge by the simplicity and depth of its presentation. On its pages, the Creator Himself, the Lord God, is revealed to us. The Bible teaches us the meaning of life and the truth described and presented in the Word of God.

To this day, the Bible is the most widely read and sought-after book. For many people, it serves as a source of life and inspiration.

Love gives genuine knowledge of God, revealing the true motives behind the actions of the Creator and Owner of the universe. Love elevates a person and, in the best sense of the expression, makes him better than everyone else in God’s eyes. And the more perfect a person becomes in love, the more diligently he serves his neighbors and the more he thinks and acts for the happiness of those around him.

Love leads a person to the highest knowledge: it reveals God’s character and makes that character the possession of the loving person. As I love, I begin to reflect within myself the image of the One Who is Love. This unique education brings life into every cell of my being and allows Jesus to abide in me and me in Him. In this union of our hearts, we plan many good things and accomplish them, sowing success in everything.

Knowledge of love is knowledge of God. It is life within a person. It is preparation for Eternal life.

1. Please read 1 Corinthians 1:25–28; Proverbs 18:2; Ezekiel 28:2–8, 16–19; Acts 22:3–4; Proverbs 19:2–3; 1 Corinthians 13:8; and Ecclesiastes 1:16–18 in the light of the subject we are studying.

2. What was revealed to you in this lesson?

3. Do human beings need knowledge?

4. Why does God permit falls in the lives of intelligent and knowledgeable people?

5. How can we avoid the snares of this world in the pursuit of knowledge?

6. Is there a remedy for the affliction of being “too clever for one’s own good”?

7. Can education and knowledge without a relationship with God be a blessing to a person?

8. Does knowledge of the Bible save me?