I know this time of year you are perhaps bombarded by words of encouragement, affirmation, and a plethora of gifts. Enjoy! You have worked hard and accomplished much. Granted, some of you have worked harder than others, but the reality today is that this is a unique accomplishment for each of you. The future is bright. You have decisions to make. And those of us watching desire to spur you on.
The Intramuralist thus has a few words to share with you, but know this beforehand: what is shared today is the same regardless of the road travelled or current societal state. How fragile is the economy, how promising is the job market — each matters less than what I share with you here. My words will always be the same…
First. Foremost. Always…
Get wisdom. At all costs, get it. Cherish it. Embrace it. Many things in this world will come and go. Life will change. You will experience hardships and joys that are currently inconceivable. In order to handle each of those well, it is vital that your character is marked by wisdom — more than anything else. It matters not how rich you are or poor you are if you have not wisdom. The perceived success of a fool will never be sustained.
Next, guard your heart. Guard everything that flows from it. I am not encouraging the construction of emotional barricades — obstacles that in the long run are more compatible with foolishness. No, I am speaking to content. What’s in your heart. Keep your mouth free from perversity, and corrupt talk from your lips. Remember that garbage in your brain means garbage will come out of it. What’s in your brain impacts your heart. Guard it. Keep it pure. Purity is one of the few things you can never retrieve.
Also vital, don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example. Be an example in what you say, in the way you live… in love, faith, and in that purity. It is true that we cannot control how other people think; we don’t have to. Learn that now. But don’t give those around you — regardless of age — a reason to look down on you. Your youth is not a liability. Rather, it is a gift. A contagious gift! There is a freshness and a clean-slate-attractiveness that prompts the rest of the world to watch you. Use that gift well. Be intentional in what you say, how you live, what you do. One of the biggest mistakes people make this day — also regardless of age — is that they fail to be intentional. They let life “just come to them.” And then they get to the end of a day or the end of a year or perhaps the end of a life and think, “What did I do?” “Where did my time go?” “What did I actually invest in?” Have an answer to that question. Invest in what is good and pure and noble and right.
Know, too, that there is right and wrong in this world. That’s a hard thing to admit. We don’t like to acknowledge the wrong, and the reality is that many persons acknowledge wrongful thinking or behavior in irreverent ways. Yet if you fail to acknowledge the existence of wrong and/or evil on this planet, you will be more be susceptible to the accompanying foolishness.
One more thing: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. It’s a 3 part process, and many become passionately unbalanced because they omit one of the imperative parts…
If you are just but not merciful, your heart has hardened; a hardened heart hurts its possessor most…
If you are merciful but not just, you have lost your ability to reason. There are reasonable consequences for actions and choices. Those consequences empower growth. The challenge is that we typically don’t like to experience any negative; we prefer an easier way…
And if you fail to be humble, an arrogance will begin to permeate all you think and do. You will think too much of yourself. Instead of seeing all things as a gift from God, you will think of yourself as a gift to all things. That boastful perch will impede your wisdom — regardless of your IQ score. Intelligence matters far, far less than wisdom.
Well done, graduate. Have fun. Life should be fun! Remember the future is bright. Pursue it with joy. As you keep your focus on what’s ahead of you, encourage one another. Serve. Reach out to those who have lesser. Learn from waiting. Learn more from suffering. Watch your words. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Don’t wear yourself out to get rich. Don’t trust your own cleverness. Let love and faithfulness never leave you. Resist bitterness. Avoid comparison. Don’t envy. Value wisdom. Value wisdom most. Be intentional. And always remember: there is hope for you.
Blessings… always…
AR