Learning is never wasted

College students are being steered away from majors like philosophy that are perceived as having no practical application (or future job prospects).

There are women being discouraged from being (or remaining) stay at home moms because that would mean their college educations would be wasted. Culturally, this is probably even stronger for men who want to rear the children as their primary occupation.

And people are concerned about switching careers because they have invested time and money in learning their first career. I know that argument has been used to try to turn me aside from a change in profession.


I am not buying it.


First of all, philosophy is practical. It teaches you to think, analyze, deduce, debate. And on and on. It can be the foundation for many careers from law to education to research to spiritual leadership to business.

I can not think of a single area of knowledge or training that will not be useful in parenting and/or running a home at some point. Throw homeschooling into the mix and that becomes an understatement.

An investment in knowledge and training can not be wasted. At the very least, learning something trains our brains to learn new things. I have never used much of the algebra I learned in high school and have forgotten most of it. Still, the process of learning it was valuable.

But beyond all that, I think there is a Guiding Hand who calls us to different things at different times. He may well call us out of one vocation into another. Or perhaps we went our own way for a while and need to change to get more in line with His will. Either way, He can weave our experience into the tapestry of our lives so that it all comes out for our good and His glory.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

God's calling incorporates our gifts and our real desires. So go ahead and follow your heart, take a risk, make a change. Not one moment or one penny of what we spent on education will be wasted. God will see to that.

Have a good day!