What Kind of Adult do You Want to Be?

             A new school year begins this week.  Many students, including one that I hold dear, will be starting their senior year in high school.  I challenge each of them to consider what kind of adult they want to be.  To be clear, graduating from high school won’t automatically make you an adult.  I’ve known some 40-year-olds (and beyond) who hadn’t quite achieved that status.  However, graduation is one step closer to beginning your life as an adult.

            My question remains:  what kind of adult do you want to be?  Who you are in your senior year will have some impact on your answer to that question.

            Come next May when you put on that cap and gown and receive that diploma, will you pat yourself on the back and think, “What a great job I did?” Or will you think back over the previous 12 years and consider the sacrifices, encouragement, and instruction that your parents, teachers, and coaches gave to help you reach that goal?  Don’t forget that it is God who gave you your abilities, and never think that your accomplishments are yours alone (Romans 12: 3; James 1:17).

            Will you be remembered as the “class clown” or as the friend who was loyal and dependable?  Laughter is essential in everyone’s life, but if laughter is all you contribute, your life will be very shallow indeed.  People need to know that they can depend on you and that you will stand by them, even when the going gets tough (Proverbs 18:24).

            Will you try to slide through this last year, doing only what you need to do to attain the prize?  Or will you do your best to not just gain knowledge but improve yourself in every way (Proverbs 6: 6 – 8)?

            The next chapter of your life is only a few months away.  Only you can write that chapter.  Will it be one of integrity, humility, and diligence?  Will you make wise decisions or be swept along by the whims of the crowd?  Will you prepare for the next adventure that awaits you or will you refuse to move out of your comfort zone? 

            I think that many of us can look back over our high school years and reflect on decisions that we wish we could change.  There are probably paths we wish we had taken, and maybe a few that we wish hadn’t.  We don’t want you to make those same mistakes.  I’m praying now that this will be the best year of your life and that it will propel you into a future that is bright and blessed.  It’s all up to you!

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6: 8 NIV84).

            That’s my prayer for you!

Joshua 1: 9

Proverbs 5: 6, 7

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