God chooses foolish people in the world to shame the wise, he chooses weak people in the world to shame the strong—he chooses high school dropouts like me.
One of my critics recently attempted to shame me by telling others that I am not academically qualified to speak against critical race theory. He suggested I shouldn’t be considered an expert on critical race theory since I do not have a PhD on a related course of study.
It’s true that I do not have a PhD on a course related to critical race theory. But my resume is even less impressive than that: I do not have a PhD on anything.
Actually, I do not have a master’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, or even a high school diploma.
I am not impressive. I am not an academic. I am not an expert. I’m just a high school dropout. I used to be ashamed of that. But now, I’m grateful.
If it wasn’t for my resilient mom, I actually wouldn’t have been in high school at all. I barely graduated from elementary school. My homeroom teacher in grade 8 claimed my reading comprehension was equivalent to a grade 5 student. She said to my mom I wasn’t suited for high school. She suggested I belonged in vocational school.
My problem wasn’t necessarily that my reading comprehension was equivalent to a grade 5 student. That wasn’t true, anyway. At that time, I was reading newspapers every day to follow the latest news about my favourite sports teams and athletes.
My problem was that my work ethic wasn’t equivalent to many of my peers—and that’s partly because my upbringing wasn’t equivalent to most of my peers.
Unlike my peers, I woke up in the morning without a parent in the home, and I also went to sleep at night without a parent in the home. This is because since I was fatherless, my heroic mom was forced to work two full-time jobs to provide for me.
Because of that, I didn’t receive a lot of the discipline and guidance children need to develop a strong work ethic. So I rarely did my homework. And that upbringing—and my sinful nature —produced a high school dropout.
By the time I was out of high school at 19, I had never finished reading a book—not until I read the Gospel of John immediately after Jesus saved me.
I eventually took adult courses to earn admission into community college for business and liberal arts—though I dropped out of those courses for other career opportunities.
However, my education is the word of God. The Bible has been my major since I became a Christian. Majoring in the Bible is better than a PhD.
I am not suggesting people shouldn’t pursue PhDs. If I could go back in time, I would probably pursue the highest levels of institutional education to serve people better. Especially since majoring in the Bible and earning a PhD aren’t mutually exclusive.
However, God hasn’t called me for that, and I’m grateful. I’m grateful many of you want to learn about intellectual issues from a high school dropout.
I’m grateful that though I’m a high school dropout, God has blessed me with a personal library equivalent to or better than many universities and seminaries.
I’m grateful that though I’m a high school dropout, God has given me the opportunity to develop an upcoming curriculum on critical race theory.
I’m grateful that because I’m a high school dropout, I’m able to explain complex issues in a simple manner for average people like me.
I’m grateful that God would choose to shame intellectuals like Robin DiAngelo and Ibram Kendi with fools like me. It’s better to be a fool with a Bible than an intellectual without a Bible.
Besides, most intellectuals are just fools with PhDs.
I’m just a high school dropout with a Bible. I am not insulted or ashamed by that. I am grateful God is my teacher.
After all, if God is able to make something out of nothing from me, isn’t that encouraging? If God is able to make something out of a high school dropout like me, why can’t he make much of you?
Whoever you are, God is able to do far more abundantly for you than all that you ask or think.
And that’s all for our gratitude and his glory.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” ( 1 Corinthians 1:26-31)