Truth & Education:

You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour. -Exodus 20:17

Why didn’t Dutch peasants steal the milk or the money? Their moral integrity was a fruit of a special kind of education.

Communist leaders like Vladimir Lenin, believed that the lack of education was the main reason why Russia was poorer compared to Western Europe and the USA. Therefore, during the 1920s and 30s, the communists launched a massive campaign, Likbez, to eradicate illiteracy. They made Russia literate, but excluded teaching ‘Truth” and “Character” as these were deemed religious topics. Consequently, the anti-God society and government in Russia became one of the world's most corrupt, oppressive and brutal.

“Western” education began in 1520 as a religious mission. Reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and John Amos Comenius prioritised ‘Character Formation’ as education’s primary purpose. For them, education meant training God’s children to serve their Heavenly Father as His priests and manage His kingdom on earth. The Reformers saw education as an aspect of fulfilling Christ’s promise to baptise God’s children with God’s Spirit of Truth. Therefore, their education produced Moral Integrity.

In order to shape the ethical character of the Netherlands, the Church Council of Dort (1618-19) required every child to memorise the 1563 Heidelberg Catechism, which included the Ten Commandments. What the school taught was reinforced by the Church which followed the Catechism during Sunday services.

The Catechism expounds “You shall not steal” as: God forbids not only those thefts and robberies that are punishable by the courts; but He includes under the name of “stealing” all deceitful tricks, whereby we design to appropriate to ourselves anything belonging to our neighbour —whether it be by force or under the appearance of right, as by unjust weights, fraudulent merchandise, false coins or exorbitant interest.

Such ethical education made it possible for a small country like the Netherlands to donate money to much larger nations such as India. Corruption rules India’s public life because our dominant religious philosophy dismisses the dualism of Good and Evil as an illusion. It asserts that everything is One. Light and Darkness are two sides of the same coin. The corruption of Indian character is a natural product of a philosophy that rejects the idea that God has commanded, 'You shall not steal or covet.’

The Dutch refrained from stealing, worked hard to create wealth and gave tithes to help the poor because they were taught God’s Word generation after generation: “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28).

Challenge Question:

Can you write down a personal practice or habit that contradicts God’s command? What consequences did you face as a result of those actions?

Related Scriptures:

● To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning…. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so, they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. -Daniel 1:17-20

● Oh, how I love Your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey Your precepts. -Psalm 119: 97-100