3:1 Are we beginning
to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of
recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our
letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show
that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with
ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of
stone but on tablets of human hearts.
We live in a culture obsessed with credentials. If people
knew the history behind the University system I'm guessing they would feel very
differently about it. More and more educating is being required to do the same
jobs. People with more education are more likely to be hired and/or get paid
more than someone who works beside them doing the same job but with less
"education". I put education in quotes because in our current culture
we call sitting in a classroom education and we grant credits for it and people
get degrees and certifications etc... for doing it. There is nothing wrong with
that. The problem is that it is not the only kind of education. Let me
illustrate:
In Europe during the dark ages universities were born. They
were created by a culture that was divided between the nobility and the
peasantry, the rich ruling class and everyone else. The divide was very real
and very large. However the skills lay very heavily in the hands of the working
class peasants. Families had been practicing certain trades and skills for
generations. There was no formal schooling attached. They learned by observation
and by hands on training from father to son or mother to daughter etc...
As the noble class grew and their families became too large
to be sustainable without them doing some kind of work a problem became
evident. How could these rich kids with no skills compete in the marketplace
against peasants who had been plying their trades for generations? The
solution? Universities. The nobility created a system where the educated got
the jobs over the skilled and the only ones who could afford this education were
of course their own children. Having formal education/certification trumped
hands on education. Those who knew how were squeezed out by those with
papers.
My brother is a classic example in our times. My dad went to
school and became a certified autobody repair technician. He opened his own
business. My brother has natural giftedness and aptitude for it. He has been
painting alongside my dad since he was twelve or less. It wasn't before he
could paint better than my dad and my dad readily admitted it. To this day my
brother has no formal education in autobody repair. If he wanted to work in
that industry he would never get hired in a case where a certified person
applied at the same time and if he did get hired he would be paid less even
though he has years more experience and a higher level of skill than a young
person coming out of school with an "education" and certification.
I say all this as an introduction to Paul's words to the
church in Corinth here in chapter three. Paul has no formal education as a
minister of the gospel. He has no PhD, nor Masters degree. He doesn't even have
a Bachelor's degree. Some in Corinth because of his absence and because of the
divisions and problems are feeling justified in dismissing his counsel to them.
Like restless teens they are trying to buck his authority. After all, who does
Paul think he is?
Paul asks the question: "Do I need to send letters of
recommendation along with my advice? Or do I need you to give me a letter
of recommendation? You are my letter."
The proof that Paul is certified is in the results. His
qualifications are proven by the track record of lives surrendered to Jesus. In
simpler terms the proof is in the pudding.
Would you prefer a man whose qualifications are proven by
results or by papers? Ideally both is best but in the absence of one or the
other I'll take the guy who has demonstrated his ability through tangible
results. So it is in matters of faith. If you are struggling to know who to
listen to in matters of faith look at their track record above the letters
behind their name. Do the results match their title? None of the apostles were
"educated" yet even their opponents could plainly see "these men
have been with Jesus" and in the matter of faith there is no better
education.
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