"Non scholae sed vitae discimus." -- Ancient Latin proverb.
"Thank you, God, for school!" I actually uttered those words this morning. Let me explain. I started school when I was 5. Kainalu Elementary School was a Paradise for me.
A 5-year old does not yet understand life, but he may well understand mystery. Even at that young age I knew that school would always play a big role in my life. That somehow I had always been and would always be a student. My every day was filled with exploration. By the 5th grade I had reached the zenith of my earthly existence. Not only was I learning Spanish in school, I was playing the trumpet in the band (all 4 of us) and serving as auditor in the school's "bank" (sponsored by the Bank of Hawaii). In time I became a hopeless reader. Books teleported me from a tiny speck in the Pacific Ocean to the forests of Maine (the Hardy Boys series) or the battlefields of Europe (Churchill's The Second World War). I had discovered what a wonderful thing it was to be a human being.
The Greek word for school (the Latin, too) means "leisure." No capitalist propaganda here! "We study, not for school, but for life" reads the Latin proverb I quoted above. Of course, some ideas do well in the marketplace. Study Greek and you might end up earning a livelihood at it. But the idea behind "school" is the notion that people pursue understanding for its own sake. I am here to tell you that to be a fulfilled person in this life, you must be a lifelong learner. I admit, for example, to being a self-taught linguist. I never had a course in linguistics but still managed to write several books on the subject. I stand here now hoping to transmit that love of learning to the young. I will not deny that I am a Greek specialist. But I will not plead guilty to an "I-am-done-learning" attitude.
Folks, if you want to be an educated person, you must do it yourself. AI can help, but it's no substitute for self-discovery. Spend at least one hour every day in studying something. Never lose that curiosity you had when you were in elementary school. Most importantly, begin your day with the Book of books. If you fail to learn doctrine, don't blame your pastor. It is your own responsibility.
"Thank you, God, for school!"
All day.
Every day.