When properly delineated, education implies the restoration of sanity, purging out ignorance. Education ought to be understood in the context of differentiating between schooling and education. Opportunists have commercially manipulated schooling. Knowledge is accessible to those in need, through various channels. The Internet has become the most effective medium of knowledge transmission, although any knowledge is also accessible, informally.
Knowledge can even be accessed through those considered to be most primitive. For instance, there are traditional medicines that help cure most deadly diseases, yet rejected by pharmaceutical cartels. Willingness to learn is the only key, to unlocking the most desirable knowledge; nothing is impossible to access, as long as distinctly in need of knowledge.
Existing problems are a result of ignorance, rather than any other factor. The most undesirable elements are the demagogues who deliberately inhibit knowledge dissemination, for the sake of their glorification. Throughout the ages, business opportunists have been taking advantage of uneducated people, manipulating their baseless emotions against anything new. At one stage, Paul encountered a confrontation that was aroused by one of such business moguls:
A certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. He called them together with the workers of similar occupations and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. Moreover, you see and hear that not only at Ephesus but throughout almost all of Asia, Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods who are made with hands. So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.” Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theatre with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions (Acts 19:24-29 NKJV).
Paul was deemed as the trouble causer, viewed as disturbing the lucrative business of Demetrius and yet Paul had highlighted progressive information. Strangely, ignorant people are known to be highly emotive against those desiring to help them. This ought not to be surprising when considering that Jesus was crucified for the simple reason of disseminating valuable information. The ignorant people clamoured for His crucifixion.
Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.”
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”
When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified (Matthew 27:15-22 NKJV).
The above Scripture reveals the curse that has kept humanity in prison. Notice that it was the chief priests and elders who persuaded the multitudes to demand releasing Barabbas rather than Jesus. The multitudes were persuaded by a false datum that considered the Chief Priests and Elders to be sacrosanct. Dictators thrive on manipulating the ignorant. Education is suppressed by dictators who find ignorant people easy to manipulate. Kim Ill Sung added impoverishing them.
An ignorant person is as controllable as chaff is controllable, using random winds. Separating chaff from the corn requires sufficient wind blow. Grain withstands wind blows, while the wind separates the chaff from the corn. The laws of nature apply to human behaviour. Ignorant people are the ones used for fueling emotions. Hence, Demetrius inflamed a riotous condition that sought to invalidate the activities of Paul.
Similarly, the Chief Priests and the Elders manipulated the same flammable chaff, comprising ignorant people, to condemn Jesus. Those religious authorities felt they held good reasons to accuse Jesus, yet the chaff, comprising the ignorant, had nothing against Jesus, but being manipulated. Therefore, ignorance is exposed as the real cause of problems in human lives.
The actual sin, emanating from pride, is not always as harmful as most people assume. As long as informed, the proud can avoid tempering with sin, directly. Proud people are those who take advantage of ignorant people, manipulating them to do the dirty work on their behalf. Dictators are correct in assuming that it is impossible to manipulate knowledgeable people.
Rather than fighting dictators, the real fight ought to be directed at educating the ignorant people. The influence and relevance of dictators diminish, as long as they fail to manipulate other people to achieve their goals. However, an educated person is as useless as unable to disseminate his knowledge to other people. The value of education is as effective as passed on to the next person until the entire populace is educated.
The world we live in attracts comfort in education when driven by a condition of pride that aims for esoteric seclusion. Professors love titles that make them inaccessible to the common society. To be a University graduate is idolized, not for advancing value in ordinary people’s lives, but for the consideration of status. Education ceases to be effective, as long as adopted to raise one’s status in society. This is what differentiates education from schooling.
Schooling carries the consideration of status while education seeks to impart knowledge that alleviates people’s problems. Jesus’ disciples were highly educated but not schooled according to accepted norms. The chaff got confused when comparing the disciples’ knowledge with that of those having gone through schooling:
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:13-20 NKJV).
The apostles were considered uneducated and untrained, only because they had not gone through formal schooling. However, those apostles were the most educated people, having received training directly from the original Author of Christianity. The validity of education is based on the origin of knowledge. “The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge” (Proverbs 18:15 NKJV).
The most unbelievable, but also realistic situation is that both the ignorant and the schooled people project the same malady. Without careful observation, one could posit that the schooled have an advantage when comparing them with the ignorant. The schooled may appear as enjoying the effects of schooling but are completely oblivious to the blindness that equates them with ignorant people, as Jesus insinuated:
And Jesus said, “For judgment, I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains” (John 9:39-41 KJV).
Jesus’ pronouncement suggested that both the schooled and the ignorant were in the same category. Conversely, education is distinctly devoid of embellishment. Educated people bear no reason to be boastful, as carrying the responsibility of enlightening others. The schooled assume that education confirms upgrading in society. While the educated person carries a heavier responsibility, he appears soiled among ignorant people.
As educated as Jesus was, He bore the curse of ignorant Barabbas. The attribute of a schooled person is pride, while the attribute of an educated person is humility, before projecting responsibility. Jesus had the knowledge that caused him to be mistaken for being pompous, although His love included loving His enemies. An educated person understands his enemies and yet his enemies cannot understand him.
The peculiarity of an educated person cannot be easily understood. I remember some time back when my condition of illness required a specialist doctor. At that time I had not yet been endowed with the knowledge I currently possess. I was surprised when told that it was improper to identify that specialist physician as a doctor. I was told that I should simply identify him as “Mr.” I could not understand the significance of that protocol, at that time.
It is only recently that it has dawned on me to speculate on the possibility that educated people are commonly not comfortable being adulated by ignorant people. They may not be excited when being adulated by those unable to understand their profession. Educated people do not mind being identified with ignorant people, as long as avoiding their deplorable conduct. This is different from the schooled characters, identified by titles of recognition, causing them to behave like army generals.
Ignorant people may be manipulated like chaff, although better than the schooled. The schooled characters sit in elevated positions of adulation. Nevertheless, an educated person makes a difference in his environment, but without being moved by adulations that come from ignorant people. He identifies with the ignorant people but is not excited by their adoration of him. This projects Jesus’ similar behaviour:
Then those men, when they had seen the activities of Jesus, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. (John 6:14-15 NKJV).
Those of this world would not let go of an opportunity that was provided to Jesus. That behaviour would be classified as wisdom. But Jesus, whose conduct was based on knowledge, knew the stupidity of succumbing to that level. He could not be tricked into accepting such undignified conditions of promotion. Proper education is commonly rejected by ignorant people. Hence, the most civilized countries are characterized by leaders who are not attracted by adulation, when focusing on responsibility.
True knowledge is spiritual. While ignorance is also spiritual, the difference is that the trajectory of knowledge aims at survival. The vector of ignorance is fiercely on the trajectory towards demise. Ignorant people are always busy fueling the stupidity that contributes to their demise, which would then be commonly mistaken for wisdom. True knowledge grants spiritual awareness. Nothing is exciting about existing physically, to people who are spiritually aware.
An ignorant person seeks to avoid painful experiences and is unaware that painful experiences scientifically generate happiness. Education requires sacrifice, which is generally unacceptable to ignorant people. However, the truly educated people, know that there cannot be value in maintaining physical comfort. A truly educated person desires to promptly depart from the physical body. What surprises ignorant people is educated people’s lack of concern about comfort in physical nature.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those having witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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