Sermon Illustrations: Education

Education: Arithmetic test, 1960s: “A logger cuts and sells a truckload of timber for $100. His cost of production is four-fifths of that amount. What is his profit?” New Maths test, 1970s: “A logger exchanges a set (T) of timber for a set (M) of money. The cardinality of Set M is 100. The Set C of production costs contains 20 fewer points. What cardinality of Set P is profits?” Dumbed-down test, 1980s: “A logger cuts and sells a truckload of timber for $100. His cost is $80; his profit is $20. Find and circle the number 20.” New Age test, 1990s: “A logger cuts down a beautiful forest of 100 trees in order to make a $20 profit. Write an essay explaining how you feel about this as a way to make money.” Readers Digest July 2006

In the days of John Wesley, lay preachers with limited education would sometimes conduct the church services. One man used Luke 19:21 as his text: "Lord, I feared You, because You are an austere man". Not knowing the word austere, he thought the text spoke of "an oyster man." He explained how a diver must grope in dark, freezing water to retrieve oysters. In his attempt, he cuts his hands on the sharp edges of the shells. After he obtains an oyster, he rises to the surface, clutching it "in his torn and bleeding hands." The preacher added, "Christ descended from the glory of heaven into ... sinful human society, in order to retrieve humans and bring them back up with Him to the glory of heaven. His torn and bleeding hands are a sign of the value He has placed on the object of His quest." Afterwards, twelve men received Christ. Later that night someone came to Wesley to complain about unschooled preachers who were too ignorant even to know the meaning of the texts they were preaching on. The Oxford-educated Wesley simply said, "Never mind. The Lord got a dozen oysters tonight." Our Daily Bread 9th April, 2008

Almost 50% of Aussie workers regret their education and job choices after leaving school. Reader's Digest January 2010, p 20