The Journey

Have you ever noticed that I Samuel's account of David in exile sounds a lot like the character of Robin Hood? Take a look at the following passages. First, he goes into exile. Then a crowd of men begin to gather about him: David departed from there and escaped to  the cave of  Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him.   2  And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, [ a ]  gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him  about four hundred men. I Samuel 22:1-2  Sounds an awful lot like he's accumulated his "merry men". And then he gains a "friar Tuck": 20  But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named  Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.   22  And David said to Abiathar...,  23 " Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you sha...

You know, I've never felt like I was prepared for life. I guess I kind of was, but I didn't feel like it. It seems like I got a crash course in life and was told, "Now, go get it." Sometimes I wonder if there was a better way to learn. Like apprenticeships. Think about it. Way back in colonial times they couldn't go to schools to learn their trades. Smithing was taught by the smiths, sailing by the sailors, altering clothes by the tailors, etc. It was so simple then: you watched someone do what they did, practiced at it until you got good enough to sell what you made, then after a few years of working under them, you were told you were now a smithy or sailor or tailor. It required muscle memory. It was hands on. It was simple. What have we done by institutionalizing education? Education is now a business taught by people who teach a general education because that's what they were taught to do. A child who wants to become a plumber doesn't get cou...