Figured I'll separate the two posts since the tone is completely different haha.
Luke 12:22-34
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
What ds said during bs (that was intended heh) stood out for me today. This little thing he heard from his friend that I think many of us as students need to understand.
We are not students who happen to be Christian, we are Christians who happen to be students.
We must not ever mix up the order. Yes our role as students is important, and that necessary means we cant run away from things like our studies. Nonetheless, we must never forget that our primary purpose in life is not to be a student. Society around us pursues these things, and certainly God knows we need it, if we dont have an education we could hardly survive. But seek Him first, and trust that He will honour those who honour Him.
In the course of these few days, I really get no satisfaction from these examinations. Even if I somewhat managed to do the papers, it doesnt bring me great pleasure. On the contrary, when the teachers decide to pull of some fancy tricks like econs paper 2 which is the single most difficult exam paper I have done in my entire life (well, 1/3 my fault I had no time to study, 2/3 the teachers are mad), it just makes me wonder what have I done with my life these entire holidays, spending it all trying to digest information that turns out to be not particularly useful.
And now, I do regret not going for xtreme makeover. From a student's point of view, it would be stupid to go, I already didnt have time to study for the examinations and true enough, even without going I couldnt finish everything on time. But if we were to look at it primarily from our purpose in life as Christians, I feel like I have made a bad judgement about which is more important.
Its sometimes easy to say we are honouring God and putting Him first. Yet its not true that we are always doing so. Honour God with our studies, against neglecting those in need. If we were to draw a parallel to the story of the good samaritian, then our actions would be like that of the priest and the levite who had 'more important duties' to perform. Easy for us to condemn them, but we dont see the plank in our own eyes.
I really, really, really want to honour God with this life. Time is also a scarce resource and there is an opportunity cost to everything we do (oh dear econs not intended). What will I choose?
I will work hard definitely. My targets for IB remain the same. But at the end of the day, I want to have put God first, and as I stand before His throne, he will say to me 'well done my good and faithful servant'.
Which matters more to me and to God. Getting good grades, or making a difference?
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