The School of Hard Knocks

Hebrews 5:8
“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”

You often hear people say that they learned through the school of hard knocks. According to the verse above, everybody learns through that school. God says that he “learned…obedience by the things which he suffered;” In other words, he would have never learned without suffering or hard knocks. Three thoughts come to mind when I look at the road to learning.

The easy road is the unlearned and foolish road. For years, I have heard people say they want to make things easier to learn, but the verse above shows that can’t happen. The easier you make things for people, the less they learn. One reason children become unruly or disobedient is because of parents who tried to make things easier for their children. My friend, the easy road is the unlearned road. The missionary who tries to make it to the field without hardness will be the missionary who will not know how to overcome obstacles when they are serving on the field. The young man whose dad handed everything to him when he is young will destroy the church when it is handed to him because he never learned the skill of serving others through those hard times. You must always remember that the easy road is the road to unlearned.

Moreover, learning is acquired through hardness. When you look back at how you learned, you will remember how hard it was to learn it, but it was the hardness that caused you to learn. If there is no suffering, there is no learning. The parent who doesn’t hand their child everything is the parent who will one day enjoy watching their child masterfully lead in those areas where God places them. I have observed that the pastors who endured the hardest times while younger seem to be the ones whom God has used the greatest. You will do people a favor by allowing them to endure the suffering of learning.

One of the greatest mistakes I hear from parents or pastors is that they don’t want to put their children through the same hard times that they had to endure when they were young. My friend, this is a huge mistake for anyone. It was the hard times that made you who you are. You didn’t get to where you were without hard times, and to think that you can bypass the school of hard knocks with your children and watch them succeed is fallacy. This is why you have got to stop doing everything for them. Make them work through their problems. Don’t let them whine or gripe about how hard it is. Stop trying to soften the blow. It is through hardships that they will learn how to face life and succeed.

My friend, if you truly love your children or those you are training, you will allow them to go through hard times. I’m thankful for my mother who never allowed me to whine about how hard things were. When I ran to her to ask how to do something, she would tell me to go back and figure it out. If I ever wanted to quit, my parents would tell me that they were not raising a quitter. It was those hardships that taught me how to make it to where I am today. If you are one who seems to be soft on those who complain about how hard it is, bite your tongue and close your eyes if you must, but let them work their way through the hard times. Those you lead will learn more by going through the hard times than they ever will by the road of leisure. Always remember that knowledge is always learned through the school of hard knocks.

Author: Allen Domelle