TRUE BASIS OF EDUCATION.
By John A. Brunson
The purpose of true education is the restoration of the image of God in the soul. This qualifies man for heavenly citizenship, and restores to him the rights and privileges which he originally enjoyed when he bore the image of God. But since the image of God in the soul was marred by sin, and all sin is self, it is clear that self, the “old man,” controlled by the mind of the flesh, must be crucified and put out of the way before the restoration of the divine image can be accomplished. The image of God can never be restored in that soul which is dominated by selfish desires and actuated by selfish motives. Self is sin. Self-serving, though it bear the label of Christian, is a service of sin. A self-centered life, however polished, cultured, refined, and attractive its possessor may be, is a life controlled by sinful principles. A man is a sinner because he is selfish, rather than selfish because he is a sinner. Every solicitation to sin is in some way an appeal to self, and every sin is a yielding for the sake of self. The image of God, which proper education seeks to restore, is the opposite of self and sin. Its predominant controlling principle is love, unselfish love,—love that suffereth long and is kind, that envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, that beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Then, since the grand fundamental principle of the divine image is unselfish love, and since the restoration of this image in man is the only true purpose of education, it must follow that the only true basis of education is unselfishness. Upon this basis alone can real Christian character be built, and education has to do with character building. Consider the words of Christ found in John 12:24 and 25: “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” Mark well the words, “If it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” What a clear statement, and forceful illustration, of the principle of fruit-bearing through unselfish sacrifice. Note also the following words, and ponder them well,—ponder them upon bended knee till your selfish heart is all subdued, and proud, ease-loving self bows humbly and submissively in recognition of the principle they enforce: “He that loveth his life shall lose it.” Behold, here we have loss, suffering, death, as the result of self-preservation. But observe what follows: “He that hateth his life . . . shall keep it.” Life, joy, happiness, through self-giving! Then truly we can affirm that while self-preservation is the selfishly recognized first law of nature, self-giving is in very deed the first law of grace. This basic principle of unselfishness must be carefully, prayerfully, and assiduously inculcated in all our educational institutions, from high grade college to modest church school. The teacher must, with deep earnestness and heaven-born tact, insist upon it in precept; he must, with becoming meekness and Christlike gentleness, exemplify it in his daily conduct. A school for Christian education must have Christian educators. The enduring principles of Christian education are most attractive and effective when embodied in Christian character. But while we insist upon the necessity of establishing and conducting our schools upon the basis of unselfishness in order that true Christian workers may be developed, we must not forget to mention that other school of divine origin, which is more important than all, more enduring in its results upon character formation, farthest reaching in its effects. I speak of the HOME. Mother and father are the child’s first teachers. They, by precept and example, make first impressions upon his growing and expanding soul. Father is the child’s ideal of manhood, mother his ideal of womanhood. If father and mother are selfish and covetous, exhibiting a world-loving, money-seeking spirit, a like disposition will be developed in their offspring. If they are impatient, irritable, fretful, so will be their children. But if they are kind and gentle, firmly discreet and discreetly firm, manifesting in their daily life true, discriminating unselfishness, their children will imbibe from contact this great truth of life. Be unselfish. Act unselfishly. Inculcate unselfishness. Be, do, teach. Teach your children to serve, not to be served; to give to others, not to expect to receive; to contribute, by self-denial, to others’ needs, not to expect others constantly to contribute to their selfish lusts. Christmas festivities, birthday presents, school prizes, are all wrong, because they encourage selfishness. Teach your children to give at Christmas time to those who are poor and needy. The money that you would spend in beautiful presents to gratify their selfish greed, put into their hands that they themselves may spend it to relieve the suffering of some poor unfortunates, or contribute to missionary work. Teach them to celebrate the anniversary of their birth, not by expecting “to be remembered,” but by remembering with substantial aid the fallen and distressed. Urge them to adopt as the guiding principle of life the Saviour’s words, “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,” and be careful to set the example. The light and privilege of a Christian home should be in the unselfish delight of ministering to others, not in the selfish pleasure of receiving. It cannot be denied that our home training fosters selfishness in our children. It is wrong. We must reform, if we love our children. Selfishness4is the source of all unhappiness. The yielding spirit of fond, indulgent parents is destroying the courage, hardihood, and happiness of our race. I repeat it: Parents, we must reform. The cardinal principle of true Christian unselfishness which we wisely demand in our schools, can never be established till it is first taught and practiced in our homes. The child is a son before he is a pupil. He is a member of the family before he is a member of the school. He gains impressions from parent before he does from professor. Come, let us humble ourselves. Let us co-operate with our schools by establishing in our homes the principles of unselfishness. Then home, church school, academy, and college will all be parts of a harmonious whole, a system of Christian education.