I know this time of year you are perhaps bombarded by words of encouragement, affirmation, and a plethora of gifts.\u00a0 Enjoy!\u00a0 You have worked hard and accomplished much.\u00a0 Granted, some of you have worked harder than others, but the reality today is that this is a unique accomplishment for each of you.\u00a0 The future is bright.\u00a0 You have decisions to make.\u00a0 And those of us watching desire to spur you on.<\/p>\n
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The Intramuralist thus has a few words to share with you, but know this beforehand:\u00a0 what is shared today is the same regardless of the road travelled or current societal state.\u00a0 How fragile is the economy, how promising is the job market \u2014 each matters less than what I share with you here.\u00a0 My words will always be the same…<\/p>\n
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First.\u00a0 Foremost.\u00a0 Always…<\/p>\n
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Get wisdom.\u00a0 At all costs, get it.\u00a0 Cherish it.\u00a0 Embrace it.\u00a0 Many things in this world will come and go.\u00a0 Life will change.\u00a0 You will experience hardships and joys that are currently inconceivable.\u00a0 In order to handle each of those well, it is vital that your character is marked by wisdom \u2014 more than anything else.\u00a0 It matters not how rich you are or poor you are if you have not wisdom.\u00a0 The perceived success of a fool will never be sustained.<\/p>\n
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Next, guard your heart.\u00a0 Guard everything that flows from it.\u00a0 I am not encouraging the construction of emotional barricades \u2014 obstacles that in the long run are more compatible with foolishness.\u00a0 No, I am speaking to content.\u00a0 What\u2019s in your heart.\u00a0 Keep your mouth free from perversity, and corrupt talk from your lips.\u00a0 Remember that garbage in your brain means garbage will come out of it.\u00a0 What\u2019s in your brain impacts your heart.\u00a0 Guard it.\u00a0 Keep it pure.\u00a0 Purity is one of the few things you can never retrieve.<\/p>\n
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Also vital, don\u2019t let anyone think less of you because you are young.\u00a0 Be an example.\u00a0 Be an example in what you say, in the way you live… in love, faith, and in that purity.\u00a0 It is true that we cannot control how other people think; we don\u2019t have to.\u00a0 Learn that now.\u00a0 But don\u2019t give those around you \u2014 regardless of age \u2014 a reason to look down on you.\u00a0 Your youth is not a liability.\u00a0 Rather, it is a gift.\u00a0 A contagious gift!\u00a0 There is a freshness and a clean-slate-attractiveness that prompts the rest of the world to watch you.\u00a0 Use that gift well.\u00a0 Be intentional in what you say, how you live, what you do.\u00a0 One of the biggest mistakes people make this day \u2014 also regardless of age \u2014 is that they fail to be intentional.\u00a0 They let life \u201cjust come to them.\u201d\u00a0 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, \u201cWhat did I do?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhere did my time go?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhat did I actually invest in?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Have an answer to that question.\u00a0 Invest in what is good and pure and noble and right.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Know, too, that there is right and wrong in this world.\u00a0 That\u2019s a hard thing to admit.\u00a0 We don\u2019t like to acknowledge the wrong, and the reality is that many persons acknowledge wrongful thinking or behavior in irreverent ways.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One more thing:\u00a0 act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.\u00a0 It\u2019s a 3 part process, and many become passionately unbalanced because they omit one of the imperative parts…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you are just but not merciful, your heart has hardened; a hardened heart hurts its possessor most…<\/p>\n If you are merciful but not just, you have lost your ability to reason.\u00a0 There are reasonable consequences for actions and choices.\u00a0 Those consequences empower growth.\u00a0 The challenge is that we typically don\u2019t like to experience any negative; we prefer an easier way…<\/p>\n And if you fail to be humble, an arrogance will begin to permeate all you think and do.\u00a0 You will think too much of yourself.\u00a0 Instead of seeing all things as a gift from God, you will think of yourself as a gift to all things.\u00a0 That boastful perch will impede your wisdom \u2014 regardless of your IQ score.\u00a0 Intelligence matters far, far less than wisdom.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Well done, graduate.\u00a0 Have fun.\u00a0 Life should be fun!\u00a0 Remember the future is bright.\u00a0 Pursue it with joy.\u00a0 As you keep your focus on what\u2019s ahead of you, encourage one another.\u00a0 Serve.\u00a0 Reach out to those who have lesser.\u00a0 Learn from waiting.\u00a0 Learn more from suffering.\u00a0 Watch your words.\u00a0 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.\u00a0 Don\u2019t wear yourself out to get rich.\u00a0 Don\u2019t trust your own cleverness.\u00a0 Let love and faithfulness never leave you.\u00a0 Resist bitterness.\u00a0 Avoid comparison.\u00a0 Don\u2019t envy.\u00a0 Value wisdom.\u00a0 Value wisdom most.\u00a0 Be intentional.\u00a0 And always remember:\u00a0 there is hope for you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Blessings… always…<\/p>\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I know this time of year you are perhaps bombarded by words of encouragement, affirmation, and a plethora of gifts.\u00a0 Enjoy!\u00a0 You have worked hard and accomplished much.\u00a0 Granted, some of you have worked harder than others, but the reality today is that this is a unique accomplishment for each of you.\u00a0 The future is … <\/p>\n