Paul A. Cleveland
Economics
Birmingham-Southern College
I ran across a passage in the Gospels nearly 20 years ago that has profoundly affected my life:
“Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (Matthew 13:52)
The Message New Testament paraphrases it:
“Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.”
As I think back upon that experience, it was as if the Lord had said directly to me that I needed to make Him my first pursuit if I intended to pursue a teaching career. God wanted to bring “new treasures” into my toolbox of knowledge. I now endeavor to spend the first hour of my day studying God’s word for application of what He teaches to my life and to my discipline.
A High Price?
Spending an hour each day in Bible study seems like a high price given the demands of our positions as faculty. In some sense it is. However, I have discovered that the time I spend with God is the most important time in my schedule.
I cannot recount the times that He has brought new ideas to mind that profoundly affect the way I see the study of economics. These have typically led to publications that have advanced my career far faster than I could have done apart from Him. During the times when I neglected to pursue God, even though I was working hard and my schedule seemed filled to the brim, I was accomplishing very little of substance.
I work at studying the Bible to pursue God. The scribes of Jesus’ day spent many hours each week in the Biblical texts, yet they were often the targets of His most severe criticism.
A Warning To Us
It’s a warning to us as Christians. The scribes didn’t have a relationship with God and, therefore, they taught and lived by hypocritical and self-serving interpretations of the Word of God rather than the purposes of God Himself.
If we really want to pursue the study of our individual disciplines in a godly way, we need to be first class students of God’s word. And, we need a fruitful and ongoing relationship with Jesus where He teaches us about the truths of His word and how they apply to all that we do.
That involves a daily commitment of our time; it also means a daily commitment of our hearts.
(c) 2005 Paul Cleveland