A person can get a solid formal education in this country and also have access to countless resources to continue learning and growing for years to come.
But all of the education in the world often comes up short in dealing with certain questions in life.
We don't know why bad things happen or why we suffer or why there are inequities and injustices or why evil sometimes seems to go on unabated.
Everyone has to grapple with this at one time or another.
I encountered a quotation years ago that made much sense in that regard. Tom Nelson, the pastor of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas said simply, "Don't let what you can't understand dilute and destroy what you can."
It was a part of a sermon he delivered entitled "The Enigma of Life, Inequities and God" from the book of Ecclesiastes.
The message was originally delivered 20 years ago on June 4, 1995.
It was a very candid message in which Nelson explained that life - with all of its troubles - can lead to despair. He also said that, even for the person who leans on God, life can be one of confusion. There are simply times in which we cannot understand why a painful experience happened.
We might all agree that no matter how much we understand geometry, no matter how much we have studied classical literature, no matter how well we might master the intricacies of photosynthesis-none of that equips us to handle some of the difficulties that life may throw our way.
And because of that, people often turn to faith for answers to some of life's most puzzling dilemmas.
Twenty years ago, in Nelson's very relevant message, he described Ecclesiastes as taking an honest look at "how you navigate the universe with a deity."
It was one of the most insightful messages I have encountered on the subject.
But Nelson isn't a lone voice on how we wrestle with life's difficulties and pain. Many others have shared insights down through the years.
The great Christian writer C.S. Lewis said pain has its place. He wrote in his book The Problem of Pain, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
Author David Brooks also wrote about the difficulties of life in his current best-seller, "The Road to Character." He explained that most of us strive for happiness but growth comes during tough times.
And he wrote about how we try to make sense of suffering, especially when we experience it ourselves.
Most people, when dealing with suffering and pain, cope with it best when they view it as a part of a big picture or a larger purpose. Brooks wrote that many individuals, while facing personal anguish, feel it is important to respond well to it.
"It spurs some people," he wrote, "to painfully and carefully examine the basement of their own soul."
It also causes people to ask themselves what they are supposed to do in the face of suffering and what they are supposed to redeem out of the experience.
Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, wrote in his best-seller, "The Purpose Driven Life," that "God has a purpose behind every problem. He uses circumstances to develop our character."
A few pages later he wrote, "Every problem is a character-building opportunity, and the more difficult it is the greater the potential for building spiritual muscle and moral fiber."
We might contend that no real education is complete until one has at least begun to understand that trials and challenges are inevitable, and we have to cope with them one way or another.
Nelson was 45 years old when he delivered his message 20 years ago, and he concluded it by telling how, even though life can be very difficult, that we can have gladness and enjoy each day.
He recounted the many reasons he had to be thankful and then said, "If I live until 12 o'clock God will have been infinitely more gracious to me than I had right to enjoy."
Our world is full of problems. Our own lives can often be a pathway of difficulty. But having thankfulness and taking an honest look at ourselves is the only appropriate response in the face of adversity.
We don't really teach that in schools, and for the most part, we don't teach it in our homes either. But perhaps we should.
David Wilson, EdD, is the associate principal at Jefferson City High School. You may e-mail him at [email protected].