Follow your heart (NOT!)
For once I was glad my nephew really wasn't paying attention. My wife, in-laws, and I were sitting (and sweating) on typical bleachers in a typical gymnasium at a typical upstate New York high school for one of humanities rites of passage: graduation. It has been quite a few years since I was last at a high school graduation so I was very interested in what was to be said to these young men and women as they got ready to launch into the world.
My mind was racing to keep up with each and every well intentioned orator. Scripture kept erupting in my mind and screaming into my soul. I know it is the American ideal to do things our own way and be the master of our destinies but that is not what God's word says. Proverbs tells us over and over that we can choose our own path but that path leads to destruction and death not peace and life. Jesus informs the crowds that were waiting around for him to do His next miracle that true discipleship requires giving up rights. Paul writes to a church telling them to put others needs ahead of their own because that is Christlike.
Every single speaker from the principal to the key note to the salutatorian said the same thing. Their message was clear and it was certainly united. Even though each came from a different point of view they each reminded the graduates that no one ought ever to tell them what to do. They were also encouraged to go out and make mistakes. The key note speaker told them to make the biggest mistakes possible. The saving grace was that this is perfectly acceptable and even preferred as long as they/we learn from our missteps.
My mind was racing to keep up with each and every well intentioned orator. Scripture kept erupting in my mind and screaming into my soul. I know it is the American ideal to do things our own way and be the master of our destinies but that is not what God's word says. Proverbs tells us over and over that we can choose our own path but that path leads to destruction and death not peace and life. Jesus informs the crowds that were waiting around for him to do His next miracle that true discipleship requires giving up rights. Paul writes to a church telling them to put others needs ahead of their own because that is Christlike.
I later asked my nephew if he understood the difference between being self confident and true self reliance. He does. He told me not to worry. He wasn't really listening to all the speeches anyway.
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