II TIMOTHY 2:15 by A l Sanders
guard against the great danger of worshipping at the shrine of intellec- tualism. When anything is put ahead of Christ and the Spirit of God, espe cially man’s intellect, the sin of pride is sure to result. As Henry Ford said, “Any man is a fool when you get him off on the subject on which he was educated.” First of all, the earnest entreaty of II Timothy 2:15 suggests, “Study to show thyself approved.” I heard a well-known educator recently declare that here in our country only five per cent of the people actually think, and about ten per cent think they think, and about eighty-five per cent of these individuals would rather die than have to think. He may be right. Perhaps the observation is amply il lustrated in the fact that today amusements are one of the biggest businesses. The A. C. Nielson Com pany, which is the largest research firm, giving an index of the T.V. viewing and listening habits of the American population, has declared that the average adult spends 3.7 hours a day watching television. No wonder we find a real lack of appre ciation for that which is moral and upright, considering the quality of the medium’s product. Paul’s e a r n e s t exhortation is, “Study to show thyself approved.” The thought can be translated, “Bend your every effort; put everything else 3
C hapter O ne A number of decades ago, God greatly used two men of faith: Dr. Reuben Archer Torrey and Mr. C. M. Alexander. The former was the evangelist, the latter the musical director. In their city-wide crusades, they took as their theme II Timothy 2:15, “Study to show thyself ap proved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” They would write this verse of Scripture on their letters. They would use it as the slogan of their campaigns. They would greet one another with the saying, “II Timothy 2:15.” Huge posters were printed with this text on it. Never would a telegram be sent without the verse being includ ed. Everyone was made well aware of this blessed theme, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a work man who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” What a positive watchword for Bio- la’s sixty-first anniversary year! Frankly, I’m glad to’ represent a school where students don’t come to major in anarchy. What a commen tary on the times in which we recall that young people used to want to stand up and be counted. Today, however, with all of the protests, it seems their only desire is to sit down and be carried. To be sure, education is vital, but there must be a safe
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