I don’t like jumping through other people’s hoops, and I don’t think you should either. I don’t like it, not because I’m a curmudgeon, but because I want to do all that I do for the glory of God, and part of that means understanding the world in which we live, something the Bible refers to as the world, as in the evil world system. We have to live in this world, but that doesn’t mean we have to like the evil part of it nor do we have to embrace it. On the contrary, we’re to transform it, but that’s another issue.

I don’t like jumping through the world’s hoops in any area, but I especially don’t like jumping through their hoops when it comes to education. And I’m not speaking as someone who doesn’t have an education. I have four earned degrees including two masters and a doctorate. I say that not because I’m proud of it, but because I want you to understand I’m not just throwing apples from the cheap seats. I may throw an apple or two, but it’s cost me a lot to be able do so.

Forbes is out with a piece saying that college may not be for everyone. Many college grads end up earning less income than those who never go to college. In fact, half of all college grads have an average income right out of school of only $28,000 per year. Some real concerns are raised including the fact that persons are strapped for years with heavy debt, in many cases upwards of $200,000. An increasing number of college graduates work in a field different from their degree. In short, more often than not, college has become a great time and money waster.

For Christians, the concerns are even greater. College is a rite-of-passage in American culture. To put it nicely, it’s one long break from reality. The put it accurately, it’s one long drunken orgy with a little bit of study in between. And speaking of study, students take a lot of interesting classes that have nothing to do with fostering one’s ability to earn an income. Beyond that, philosophically speaking, there is no neutrality. Every class, every professor, and every word spoken in those classes by those professors comes from a worldview that is, way more often than not, diametrically opposed to God and a true worldview derived from Him. Christians, and people in general, are forced to take classes that some progressive group deemed to be important – more important than the vast store of knowledge that could be pursued if college were structured differently. Those are the referenced hoops. No hoop jumping, and no degree.

Of course, while that degree might be necessary in some fields, and important in others, it’s not as important in many fields as it once was. With the advent of innovative business models, the demand for different lifestyles than previous generations, and new modes of education, an increasing number of people don’t need to go to college. The truth is, for the reasons outlined here, and a wealth of others, most of us really shouldn’t go to college, and that goes double for the saints.

How ‘bout them apples?