Upon Graduating High School

Dear Josh,

Warmest love and greetings in the Master’s Name.

Congratulations on your graduation! We were really pleased to hear how well you did and also to learn that you got the scholarship you were hoping for.

Now that you are off to university, I thought I would drop you a line with a few words of advice (wisdom, I hope!) about your new life.

Your career in the Truth

For the last two years, you have been receiving counseling on “careers” and now, from the world’s point of view, you are beginning your formal preparation. But, dear Josh, as your mother in Christ,I would like to counsel you a little, if you grant me a moment.

Your “career” in life began a year ago, at your baptism, when you dedicated heart, soul and strength to your Creator. You answered the question of “What do you want lobe when you grow up?” that day and you promised total allegiance and service to your Master.

“Ah,” you say, “but! have to work at something now that! have finished school and I have to be able to get a good enough job to support a family. In this rat race of a world, the only way to do that is to get a good university degree. And besides, when I am finished, God willing,! hope to dedicate myself fully to the work of the Truth.”

You are quite right. God expects us to be responsible people, working and taking care of our wives and children when they come along. But God did not call us to be engineers, or teachers or computer specialists. I don’t think He particularly cares what we do to earn our daily bread, as long as we are honest, hard-working and do not bring shame to His Name. Do not be deceived by the world in which we live and put too much importance on your university studies. God would be just as pleased if you decided to be a store clerk, a mailman, a gardener or a carpenter.

Today is the time we have

I know you want a degree so that you will have more freedom to work in the Truth and that is a very admirable desire. May God grant you that opportunity. But the only real time we have to work in the Truth is today. Perhaps you have read in the magazine recently of young brethren who only had today — who died suddenly before they had hardly begun their worldly careers. We can’t afford to put our work in the Truth on hold for four or five years while we get our degree, promising that then we will dedicate ourselves totally to God’s service. Perhaps God has not given us that much time.

Allocating our time

When I was young (it seems like many years ago!), I knew a brother who was starting on four years of training at a very demanding technical school. He said that he had decided that his days from eight to five would be dedicated to his studies; but after five, and his weekends, would be for the Truth.

For four years he never missed the lectures, Bible classes, CYC, fraternal gatherings, campaigns or neglected the readings. He graduated respectably and has been a very successful man in his field for the last 25 years.

That is about the finest attitude people can have when they are setting off to begin university. God has promised His blessing if we serve Him faithfully, but! cannot imagine Him being pleased when He sees His children filling their minds with worldly wisdom and knowledge and not finding time to read and study His Word.

God wants souls

A rabbi once said about his brilliant son, “Why do I need a genius for a son?” Doesn’t the world have enough geniuses? A soul is what I need for a son.”

In like manner, the creator of the universe doesn’t need our knowledge or our worldly wisdom. He who made the cell and the atom will not be impressed with an A+ if we have sacrificed His time to get it.

I don’t mean to give you a hard time, Josh, but the world is so subtle and even in the brotherhood we can be affected by its attitudes. Please don’t learn to worship the god of education. We all need to do something while we await our Lord’ s return. At your age, the most sensible thing to do is to prepare yourself for some kind of job. But always remember that it should just be something we are doing while we are waiting. Our real work today and every day is what we are doing to serve our God.

Putting ideas into practice

“How does that work in practice?” you ask. Good question. It means, for example, that studying begins after the readings are done, after you get home from Bible class or the lecture (even if there is an exam on Monday morning!). It means that your real work is helping with the young people, teaching Sunday school (especially important as the meeting you will be attending is a small one), giving Bible classes and not forgetting your personal Bible study. That is your career.

We are in training to be the future leaders and educators of the world. God needs strong, enthusiastic young brethren and sisters to work in His service now.

An opportunity to preach

I know another young brother who went off to university by himself but who was determined to serve his Lord first. He did the readings in the lounge of his dorm, inviting others to join him. He talked the Truth continually to everyone he met at school. I believe that in the course of his four or five years at university about 10 young people were brought to a knowledge of the Truth and eventually baptized.

Serve Christ first

Josh, serve your Master first. With the time you have left over, pursue your school studies and do the best you can. Then you will never need to feel shame at the judgment seat when he asks what you have done with his time.

God bless you always and give you His wisdom and strength in your new life.

Love,
Aunt Jessica