Home > Op-ed > WEEKLY REFLECTIONS > February 20, 2005 | To bottom

Education for humanization

“...the midwives were God-fearing and so did not obey the king; instead they let the boys live.” - Mark 12:30

One of the basic aims of education is to make human beings more human. The Book of Exodus talks about the story of two midwives by the name of Siphrah and Puah (Exodus 1:15-21). A midwife, as we know, is educated to perform a very important task in the birth of a child. In short, a midwife’s education is meant to help bring forth life into this world.

According to the text, Shiphrah and Puah had unselfishly exercised such noble task at the time when the Israelites were suffering in the hands of the Egyptians. If we would analyze more deeply, the sufferings of the Israelites was a result of a false sense of security. The Egyptian Pharaoh thought that the Israelites were a threat to their national security. He thought that a time might come when the Israelites would join their enemies and would take over the reigns of government.

And so, the Pharaoh thought of exploiting the Israelites by treating them as slaves in order to prevent them from growing in number. A false sense of security would make a ruler inhuman and the people dehumanized. It happened to the Israelites in ancient times; it is also happening even today.

The Egyptians, however, were scared after realizing that the more the Israelites were exploited and dehumanized, the more they grew in number. This is what is mysterious about people who put their ultimate trust in God. Their suffering is never a sign of weakness nor defeat; they always find strength in their suffering, because they do believe God is with them.

Hence, the Pharaoh thought of an evil plan. He ordered the two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who were helping the Hebrew women, to do something to prevent the growth of the Israelites. The Pharaoh said to the midwives, “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, kill the baby if it is a boy; but if it is a girl, let it live”(v.16). This has always been the case with political leaders who are desperately trying to maintain their power and authority. They would do everything they could to hold on to power, even if this would mean death and suffering to a lot of innocent people.

The response of the two midwives, however, is very significant. The Biblical text says, “But the midwives were God-fearing, and so they did not obey the king; instead, they let the boys live”(v.17). This is important to note, because it would help us draw the line of obedience to authorities. We do believed that authorities are supposed to be ordained of God. But here is a clear example of a human authority whose will and purpose run contrary to God’s will and purpose. Our Biblical story suggests that such kind of authority deserves to be disobeyed.

The Pharaoh learned what happened. And so, he summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting the boys live?” The midwives had to give an answer that would be convincing to the Pharaoh. They said to the Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women, they give birth easily, and their babies are born before either of us gets there” (v.19).

The response of the two midwives is a clever way of using facts to avoid the real issues. This was the only way they could get out of the situation without being killed. The way the midwives handled the situation is a good answer to the question: “How to disobey a tyrannical ruler, and yet stay alive?”

But that is not the end of the story. Our Biblical text concludes, “Because the midwives were God-fearing, God was good to them and gave them families of their own. And the Israelites continued to increase and became strong”(v.20-21). Truly, people who obey God rather than men will always find at the end that God’s blessings are awaiting them.

This is the story of the two midwives. Their names may not be found in our list of Old Testament heroes. But nevertheless, their lives are precious reminders on how we should use our education for humanization. One very important lesson we could get from the midwives is their insistence that education is meant to enhance life, to make human beings more human, and not to destroy life. To the midwives, the midwives the preservation of human life and dignity is a consideration that outranked all other considerations, not even national duty.

This would mean, therefore, that to be educated is to be truly human. And to be truly human is to care for that which is human. And that we can only find our true humanity by giving our life so that others may live. The two midwives remind us that education is meant for service. They used their education to serve their own people. At the time when they were exploited by the Egyptians, they did not leave their own people. They struggle with them; they suffered with them.

The way the two midwives used their education is a challenge to each one of us. Unfortunately, we have in our country a commercialized educational system that tends to develop human potentials more for economic gains rather than for service. Hence, it is quite difficult to find people who truly offer their education in the service of our people. How many doctors, for instance, are treating patients without down-payments? How many bureaucrats are responding to people’s needs immediately and efficiently without grease money? Is it surprising for us to realize that we are the second most corrupt country in the world?

To serve our people with our education, especially in our time, is never easy. For oftentimes it would entail a lot of sacrifices. We are reminded though that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was crucified, because of his love for the multitude who are like sheep without a shepherd.

The cry of our generation is a cry for God to raise from among us educated men and women who are courageous enough to rise above the materialistic and inhuman culture of the day and offer their education in the service of our people for the glory and honor of the Greatest Teacher of us all. #

Home > Op-ed > WEEKLY REFLECTIONS > February 20, 2005 | Back to top