“The Shape of Influence”
Dear Writer, I hope you enjoyed your week and had a chance to see how history—your picture of God’s great story—is shaping your message as a writer! Today, we’re going to explore the formative impact education has on developing our writing voice. Now, here’s the thing…
Education is more than what takes place between the four walls of a classroom. Education is about how we learn to associate with and assimilate the world around us. For most, learning consists of a mishmash of interests, experiences, inputs, and divine encounters that create the framework of our personal values and decision-making processes.
But before we dive deep, let’s look at some examples of others whose education played a distinctive role in creating their voice…
Education in History
George Washington Carver is an excellent example of a man whose education dramatically shaped his unique voice. Born a slave, Carver’s education began on the farm of his owners Moses and Susan Carver. Raising him as a son, Susan taught Carver to read, write, and do housework and gardening, and Carver quickly developed a love of plants and botany. Seeing his aptitude, Susan and Moses encouraged him to pursue formal education.
Carver took their advice moved to a neighboring town to attend school. There, Carver lived with a black couple in exchange for help with the housework. The wife, a strong Christian, imparted her devout faith to Carver. Though Carver moved schools several times in pursuit of a quality education as an African American, Carver finally became the first African American to earn a Bachelor of Science degree.
It was Carver’s love of botany coupled with his faith and the persistence he’d developed as student that prepared him to forge new paths, both in his own life and in the word of agriculture as he pioneered solutions that revolutionized the farming industry and revived the livelihoods of struggling peanut, soy, and corn farmers across the south. His scientific and agricultural contributions ares still impacting our society and economy today.
You see, writer, sometimes our educational path may seem chaotic or unusual, but God strategically uses every part of our journey to shape our unique contribution to the world.
Education in the Bible
Daniel’s life is another wonderful illustration of how education shapes our voice. Born to Jewish nobility, Daniel’s education earmarked him for enlistment in Nebuchadnezzar’s court when he was taken into Babylonian captivity. After Daniel’s three-year degree in all things Babylonian, his unusual depth of wisdom caught Nebuchadnezzar’s attention. And here’s the thing.
It was the blending of Daniel’s Jewish faith with the best of Babylonian instruction that caused Daniel to stand head and shoulders above the other wise men. For no one else walked in the integrity and divine wisdom Daniel’s faith in God produced. Daniel’s unique combination of educational influences opened the door for over 70 years of service in the Babylonian and Persian empires
You see, writer, it’s not just about what we learn but how we learn it. Daniel’s early training rooted him in a deep conviction of God’s sovereign person and principles that enabled him to seek and move with confidence God’s wisdom even in the midst of a pagan culture.
Education in Life
Education began shaping my voice at a young age, when my mom pulled me out of first grade in reaction some terrible policies enacted at my school. Resolving to homeshool me, my mother—a highly intelligent woman, who refused to give busy work—was determined her creative daughter would be excellent in all things. Including math. She executed her plan with ease, skipping me over the 7th grade, since it was all review. But then…we reached Algebra.
Mom persisted in a year and a half of patient Algebra instruction, persevering until I finally grasped its abstract concepts and could move on to Geometry and Algebra II with ease. In the end, I graduated a year early with high marks in all subjects. But here’s the interesting thing…
My mother’s hand-tailored approach to education not only prepared me for college and career, it also equipped me with both the pragmatic persistence and compassion I needed to create and teach a one-of-a-kind class on western-style news writing to Ugandan missionaries. Shaped by my mother’s example, I easily poured my heart into the students who struggled and embraced unconventional techniques that fast-tracked them with the skills and mindset needed to succeed. As a result, their testimonies have been traveling to partners around the world to this day.
Education in Your Life
You see, writer, education is a critical part of our development process as people and especially as writers. Sometimes that education comes easily, like it did for Daniel. Sometimes we must fight for it, like George Washington Carver. At other times, it takes a path of it’s own, like mine. But here’s the thing…
That path, whether clear or chaotic, is a path of preparation paving the way to reach those who need our God-given message. Let me show you…
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- Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. – 1 Timothy 4:15-16
- Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15
- And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. – 2 Timothy 2:2
- Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. – Matthew 28:19-20
Where to Start with Education
So are you ready to explore how education has shaped your voice? Here are a few things to get you started…
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- Make a List. Begin by prayerfully reviewing the main educational forces in your life. What kind of school did you go to? What teachers and mentors dramatically influenced you? What subjects captured your imagination? These answers will provide clues to the way God has been shaping your voice over the years.
- Identify Obstacles. What obstacles have you encountered in your learning journey? How have you overcome them? Sometimes our learning struggles shape our voice just as much as our wild successes. Often, the people God has designed us to reach are those who are facing the very struggles He’s helped us overcome.
- Self-Learning. What subjects have captured your imagination and fueled a desire for and pursuit of learning outside the classroom? These subjects sometimes form core elements of our message, audience, and voice.
- Who Taught You? Who was a memorable teacher or mentor in your life? How did their influence shape you? Often, we have particular teachers and mentors whose heart and approach spoke directly to ours and transformed our perspective.
Did you catch that, writer? Our most memorable teachers likely had a voice that resonated with something in our own. And here’s the thing: just as our teachers spoke into our lives, as we lean into the unique learning opportunities that God has brought us, we begin to recognize the space in which He’s uniquely fitted us to teach others, too. Because here’s the thing…
Learning is never just about us. Learning is about how the Lord is fitting us as unique vessels to hold His glory. Just like Daniel’s learning fitted him to counsel kings. Just like Carver’s tireless study freed a generation trapped in poverty. Just like my learning equipped God’s minsters to tell their stories of in their own voice. Because here’s the final thought…
Education is all about humility. It’s about learning to push beyond what’s comfortable for the benefit of others. But by humbling ourselves to accept the learning process, God is able to shape our mindsets and amplify our voice into a range far beyond anything we’d ever imagined. Like t it says in 1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you…”
So I challenge you today, writer. Anywhere you’ve been stuck in your writing process, don’t allow life’s barriers to keep you from moving forward. Choose to allow life’s difficulty to drive you to learn and grow. As you lean on the Lord, you will begin to see how He is using the learning process to shape your unique message to reach your generation.
#courage #education #NeverStopLearning #EveryWriterWriting
