To the Christian, upcoming college freshman:
People are immoral. It’s a fact of life, and one that most people have come to expect. College kids especially are just assumed to be living with disregard to ethical values. Going to college? You’ll hear things like, “don’t get caught up in it” and “college is the easiest time to go astray” not only regarding your goodness but your faith in God as well. And the immorality of man is Biblical; Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” which is something I think we can all get behind. But why do we support this cause so readily? Where is our fight?
Romans is reminding us that ultimately, we need God for salvation. It is not giving us a get out of jail free pass to surrender our struggle with sin any time temptation comes knocking.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. // Galatians 6:9
It’s so prevalent to see sin take its toll in the form of a jaded Christian. We strive all day long against many things that seem so natural, and in the end there appears to be comfort in giving up and letting sin work its way into our habits. Don’t allow your imperfection to instantly win out over your desire to live righteously. Yes, we may suck as humans, but that allows us so much opportunity to please God in our fight to overcome our sins. I do think it’s important to know that we are capable of evil; to know our dark side. It’s real, it’s there, and to deny that would be lying to ourselves.
Don’t, however, let that wear you down and question why you do what you do. Don’t become so accustomed to saying “Wow, I am sinful,” to believe there is nothing you can do about it. Let every white lie, every boastful thought, every lustful look hurt you as much as it hurts God. And when you fall, let God’s mercy cover you.
Garren Hatley // @garrenhatley
Senior // Mechanical Engineering
Denver, NC