PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

Some of you may say that this is too much. No, this is not too much. According to my experience of human life, education is next only to God. I thank God that when I was young, He afforded me the opportunity, the time, to receive Him. I had God when I was young. Moreover, at the same time I received a certain amount of education.

I encourage you all to consider your education, especially the last ten years of it. Next year you may go on to high school. There is a total of four years of high school. Then you will go on to college for another four years. I encourage you, do not stop your education after graduation from high school. It is a problem for the country of the United States that many of the young people today do not like to go on past high school. That is pitiful. You have to keep going on for another four years. I would like to encourage you all. If you do not get a Ph.D., you have to get at least a master's degree. This will take you ten more years from today. This seems like a long time, but in actuality, it is very short; it will go by very quickly. Whether or not you are successful in the future depends upon how you spend these next ten years.

The Bible is very important, but I must tell you, education is also important for young people. I do not agree that any one of you would graduate from high school and then stop your schooling. That is absolutely wrong. In Anaheim in 1977, I gave a message saying that all the young ones have to finish college at least, although it would be better to get a master's degree, and it would be best to get a Ph.D. That word encouraged many young people. Today many have come back to thank me. Some said, "At that time we thought that as long as we loved the Lord, that is all right. It is good enough simply to wash dishes in a restaurant, mow lawns, or wash windows." I told them, "This is not okay. You must go on to finish your college education. But even this is not the best. This is barely up to the standard. You have to go on to get a master's degree, or even the more, you have to go on to get a Ph.D." A number of young people took my word.

One brother, who is now my useful helper in the translation of the Bible, heard that word. He went on to study and received a Ph.D. degree. Now he is very good in Greek and is the most useful helper to me in Greek. Therefore, please take my word. You must have the goal to receive God, but in fact, you have already received Him. Now you have to receive an education.

CHARACTER

What is the third thing you need? It is not something spiritual such as consecration or full-time service. It is also not health, and if you say it is a family, that simply means you are anxious to get married. Rather, the third thing you need is character. You must have God, you must have education, and you must have a proper character.

If a young brother stands to speak in a conference, he may think that he is in a good condition. He may dress very well with a light blue shirt and a necktie. This is not bad, but if he turns around, we may see that he has not tucked in his shirt. If so, he is wrong in that matter. When you put on your shirt, you must tuck it neatly into your pants.

When I go into someone's room, I first look at the books on his desk. How do you arrange your books? You must put them in a good order. Every time you leave your desk, all the books on it must be arranged in a very nice order. This is to build yourself up. In my eyes, many things about the young people are too free. You need to be adjusted; you need to be instructed; you need to be corrected in many ways, not in only one way. The way you cut your hair may be wrong, and the way you comb it also may be wrong.

You need to build yourself up. Our proper person is our character. Our character is what we are; it is our being. You have to realize, however, that character is composed of two things: your birth and your habit. What is character? Character is birth plus habit. With all of us, though, birth does not occupy as much importance as habit. Character is mostly what we ourselves build up from our youth. Day after day, you have to build yourself up. All your parents probably taught you to have good manners at the dining table. That is the building up of a good habit, but it is not only that; it is the building up of a good character.

In brief, you need God, you need education, and you need character. Seventy or eighty years ago I was still young, so I know all the problems, situations, and gimmicks of the young people. A young brother may say that he was on fire for the Lord while visiting another church. However, that is too easy. When there is a fire, everyone is burning, but when the brother sat in his room by himself, was he still on fire? If he was not, then the burning was not his own; he simply took advantage of everyone else's burning. This is due to the lack of a built up character.

Even in seeking the Lord, in pray-reading, and in keeping a morning watch, you need a proper character. The basic need is not your doing or your acting. The basic need is what you are. You have been in the human life for at least twelve years already, or perhaps fourteen. You have only half of your time left to build up yourself. Every young person should be built up by the time he is twenty-four years old. After twenty-four, even just at twenty-five, it is too late. Please believe me. You must get yourself prepared and educated within the limit of twenty-four years. By the age of twenty-four, you must have God, you must have an education, and you must have a proper character. Then you will be all right. God bless you. Amen.

(Witness Lee, Fellowship with junior high and high school students in Berkeley California on September 2, 1990.)

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