Friday; February 10

As I drove by a signboard of a local elementary school, I noticed a saying that caught my attention, “Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education”. I kept that concept in mind until I could do a little research on it origin. As I did a little digging I found out that it is a quote from Martin Luther King that comes from an article of his that appeared in the Morehouse College campus newspaper. As with many people, King’s youthfulness generated some thought-provoking perspectives. Interestingly enough, the teenager’s reflection on education came from his time in school where he balanced the rhetoric with reality. My takeaway from this observation is that success doesn’t merely come from being smart enough, it is also dependent on being good enough!

Education has been an important part of humanity’s development throughout the years, but it isn’t just what we know that helps us mature, it is also what we put into action. Gaining knowledge (and even handing out information) has some value, but what makes effective people is the ability to blend what we learn with how we live.

Centuries before Dr. King, a Christian church leader named James wrote, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17). Let’s study hard but not lose sight of the need to put our knowledge into motion through character. When we do that, we will become truly successful.

Think About It!

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