O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness        

WHAT IS MY ATTITUDE TO ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE?  

                     Academic excellence is a major theme of Singaporean life. The stress of tests and exams affects teachers, students and parents alike. Many see education as the means to fulfil their ambitions for power, prestige, position and popularity. Paper qualifications are regarded as the key to unlock the door to a life of comfort, affluence, status, luxury and ease.

          Unfortunately, many Christians have become engrossed with the paper chase at the expense of other important aspects of life. Some would compromise on their Quiet Time, their reading of God’s Word, and most of their spiritual activities because “studies must come first.” Attendance at church and fellowship meetings typically declines during exam time. Perhaps we should ask: Has the pursuit of academic excellence become a new idolatry for which we willingly devote all our time and energy?

          On the other hand, there are students who are indifferent toward their studies, and who require much external motivation and incentives to fulfil even the most basic student responsibilities. The attitude that they have toward their studies does not help their Christian testimony at all. Some would put the blame on the school environment, on the quality of teachers or tutors, or on peer group influence. But very often, the prime cause is to be found in the attitude of the students themselves.

          As Christians we need to have the right attitude toward academic excellence that will help us to maintain a good balance. Here then are three biblical principles that should moderate our attitude to excellence.

PRIORITY – Putting Christ above all things

          Christ has full rights to Lordship by His costly redemption of our souls from sin and eternal death. We must let Christ exercise His rights as the Lord of our lives. 1 Corinthians 6:20 – “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” His Lordship must be exercised in every area of our lives, including our studies.

          But what does it really mean, in practical terms, to give priority to Jesus Christ, and to subordinate our studies to Him? Colossians 3:2 tells us, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” To set one’s affection on something is to let one’s mind be dominated by a particular inclination. Thus, students must be careful not to let their minds be dominated by a desire to obtain better grades than all their peers, or by a desire for good paper qualifications, or even by a desire for a very promising career.

          Students, if God were to ask you in no uncertain terms to forsake your academic pursuits for Him right now, would you be able to do it? (Note: not everyone will be asked by the Lord to do this, just as not everyone will be asked, like Abraham, to sacrifice his only son.) This was a question I had to answer 40 years ago. I was faced with the decision of whether or not to terminate my university education halfway, when I was sure that the Lord wanted me to serve Him fulltime. By God’s grace, I finally heeded His call and discontinued my studies to prepare for fulltime Christian service.

          Many people thought that it was foolish of me to throw away such a good opportunity. They said that I should have completed my course first, and then heed God’s call to serve Him with the added advantage of a secular degree. But the issue was one of obedience – who is more important to me: God, or my career? If we call Jesus “Lord” do we show it in our daily living and in the choices we make? Is He really the Lord of every area of our life, including our studies?

PURPOSE – To bring glory to God

          Academic excellences should not to be an end in itself, but a means to bring glory to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 10:31 – “Whether therefore ye eat or ye drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” In everything we do, our concern must always be how we can glorify the Lord through it. We are to glorify God not only when we worship Him on Sundays, not only in our times of prayer, and not only when we talk to others about God. We are to glorify God in the ordinary things we do each day: in our work, in our play, and even in eating and drinking.

          Many people divide their lives into well-defined compartments. Going to church, spending time in prayer and witnessing belong to the ‘sacred’ compartment and are done for the Lord. But all other activities belong to the ‘secular’ compartment and are not done for the Lord. As Christians, we should do everything for the Lord. For us who are students, that includes our studies. Perhaps you may ask: “How can my studies be used as a means to glorify the Lord?”

          Firstly, by consistent, disciplined effort not just during exam time but throughout the whole year. Ecclesiastes 9:10 – “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” Christians should be exemplary students, regular in attendance, attentive during lectures, handing up assignments on time, and faithful in revision and project work. We bring glory to God before our peers when they can see such virtues in us.

          On the other hand, if we are always irresponsible and sloppy in our work, inattentive during lectures, and producing poor quality results due to carelessness and last-minute work, will we give others any reason to glorify God?

          Some students are blessed with the ability to get the best grades quite effortlessly. If we are able to achieve that, we have a unique opportunity to glorify God when people inquire how we managed to do it. When the O and A level results are released every year, many will be interested to know how the top students gained such perfect scores. And most top students would attribute success to their own hard work, good teachers, supportive parents and diligent practice. Would students who are Christians testify that it was God’s grace that gave them academic success? Why is there great reluctance to give glory to God for this?

          Another way to glorify God is by using our knowledge to help fellow students who are academically weak. This is one way to show Christian love to others and be a blessing to them. We probably know of some classmates who have difficulty in understanding lessons, or who are not using the best methods to study. As Christians, we can offer to help them.

          If we are able to take down good comprehensive notes during lectures, or if we have the ability to make clear and easy-to-understand summaries of difficult topics, we can make them available to others. This may involve some sacrifice on our part as we may need to spend a little extra time with those who need help. But this sacrifice is worthwhile when people come to regard us as helpful and concerned friends to them, and God is glorified when they know that we are Christians. As a bonus, our own understanding of the subject will improve tremendously, for there is no better way to learn something than to teach it to others.

          A third way to glorify God in our studies is by doing all these things while at the same time being active in Christian service. People around us will gradually come to know about our involvement in Church or in a Christian fellowship group. And if at the same time they notice that we are coping well and helping those who are weak in their studies, this combination will surely make an impact on them. But it is not easy to do this. If we attempt to do all this in our own strength, we will fail. We need the application of one more principle:

POWER – Finding our sufficiency and strength in God

          With all the tutorials to prepare for, assignments to write, books to read and projects to complete, studying can be a really huge task. And these have to be done while keeping up with CCA and family commitments. Students attempt to cope with these things and with the stress they produce in different ways. Some are able to find solace in their peers, but some end up in depression. For us who are Christian students, the best way to cope with all these things is to seek God’s help and to surrender ourselves and our expectations entirely to Him.

          The biblical account of Joseph’s life records that although he could have easily wallowed in unproductive self-pity and resentment when his own brothers sold him as a slave into Egypt, he surrendered himself to God’s purposes for him there. It was only by doing this that he rose from being a despised foreign slave to becoming an eminent prime minister.

          What was the source of Joseph’s success? Genesis 39:3,23 provides the answer: “And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand… The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.”

          In order to find our sufficiency and strength in God like Joseph did, we need to pray. In prayer we can seek for divine enablement and blessing upon our studies. We can pray that He who created our minds will grant us the ability to understand, retain and reproduce whatever we have studied. James 1:5 tells us, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

          We can ask the Lord for wisdom to use the right approach for each subject. Certain subjects require us to remember a long sequence of facts, figures and events, while other subjects require a lot of mental reasoning instead of memory work. A mind that is sanctified by God, and a heart that trusts in the Lord’s enablement will provide the best potential to discern and apply useful approaches to master each subject. Besides that, we should always seek God’s wisdom to organise our time well enough so that we can meet all our deadlines.

          Before we do anything, let us always remember to pray. Pray before doing assignments. Pray before taking each test, quiz and exam. In time, we will be able to see the difference that trusting God makes in our studies. For those of us who are parents, let us learn to trust in God for our children’s academic success. Worrying will not avail as much for our children as praying for them will (Philippians 4:6; James 5:16).

          Thus, we have seen that our attitude to studies should be moderated by Scriptural principles that can be summarised in three words: Priority, Purpose and Power. By putting these principles into practice, our pursuit of academic excellence will be in accordance with the will of God, and our education will fulfil its objective of preparing us for a lifetime of Christ-centred living and effective service in a complex world.

– Pastor

Appointments for the Week

Monday, Sep 25

        7.30 pm     ERBL: OT Poetic Books (Rev Charles Seet)

Tuesday, Sep 26

        8.00 pm     Prayer Meeting (Eld Lim Ching Wah)

Thursday, Sep 28

      10.00 am     Ladies’ Prayer Group

        7.30 pm     ERBL: The Theology of Prayer (Pastor Tan Soon Yong)

Saturday, Sep 30

      11.00 am   Faith NBC (Rms 1-5 &1-6)

        3.00 pm     YLM Social Media Seminar (MPH)

Sunday, Oct 1

  8.00 am     “To the Unknown God” Acts 17:14-34 (Rev Charles Seet)

  8.00 am Choir Practice

  9.15 am Library (Sanctuary Balcony)

  9.40 am Sunday School / Catechism Class

10.15 am Coffee Corner

11.00 am “To the Unknown God” Acts 17:14-34 (Rev Charles Seet, with Holy Communion)

11.00 am Children’s Ministry

11.00 am Chinese Service (MPH)

12.15 pm Library (Sanctuary Balcony)

  2.30 pm Thai Service (LMH)

  4.00 pm Indonesian Service (Rm 1-6)

Announcements

Social Media Seminar by YLM

30 Sep 2023 (Sat), 3pm to 6pm, Onsite @ Beulah MPH

Registration at https://tinyurl.com/ylmsocialmediasem2023

Infant Baptism on Church Anniversary, 15 Oct 2023.

Parents, please email the church office with your full names, contact numbers, and your child's name and date of birth by 24 Sep 2023.

Door to Door Evangelism 1 Oct 2023

Meet in Beulah Room 2-11, 12.30 pm Contact: Desmond or Amos   

Traffic Wardens

Lifers are invited to serve our Lord as Traffic Wardens on Sunday. Kindly contact Bro Yeo HS if you are available.

Birth

Congratulations to: Dn & Mrs J Chia on the birth of a baby girl, J Chia, on 11 Sep 2023

With One Voice – An Evening of Praise 

Sat 7 Oct 2023, 7-9 pm, Life B-P Church Sanctuary.

Join us for an evening of praise as we gather and celebrate unity as a church together. Come with your family and friends to be edified with praise items from our church choir, ministries and outreaches.

Filipina Sunday School and Worship Service

Invitation to all Filipinas. Come join us in our Filipina Sunday School and Worship Service at Life B-P Church.

Sunday School 9.40am – 10.40am (Beulah Centre, Rm 2-11)

Contact: Sis Low AL

Filipina Worship Service: 11am – 12.15pm (Beulah House, Rm 1-6) (2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th Sunday of each month.

Contact: Dn Teo KG

Strengthening Marital Relationships in the Church 

Speaker: Rev Gabriel Gan

Date: 4 & 18 Nov 2023

Time: 2.00pm to 6.00pm (followed by dinner)

Venue: Beulah MPH

Registration deadline: 20 Oct 

A nursery programme will run concurrently with the seminar for children 3-8 years old.

https://forms.gle/RrXU9nGYJ2VPjnmz6

Participating in upcoming Mission Trips in 2024

We would like to encourage Life B-P Church members to participate actively in missions both in support and involvement (short-term or otherwise), including medical and dental (MaD) missions, with the hope that some may be called to be full-time missionaries.  If you are interested to participate in the upcoming mission trips being planned for 2024, please register your interest by filling in the form. All participants who are attending mission trips organised by Life B-P Church are required to sign the letter of undertaking for the mission trip: https://forms.gle/Cc4Q22b8csiFmqEY6.

Mission Trips for 2024

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