Should I Go To College?

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Rev. Kyle Mietzner (Grace Lutheran Church - Greensboro, NC) Higher Things Conference - Coram Deo Emory University, Atlanta GA July 20&21, 2011

Should I Go To College? College is all over the news as of late. The president thinks that the solution for a stronger America is to graduate more kids from college. More degrees means more success. Meanwhile, the average rate of tuition increases far more rapidly than inflation, making the cost of a four year education about the cost of the house where you grew up. That is a ton of money. At the same time, the president has also said that the solution for a stronger America is to have more manufacturing in our country. So, are you believe that you need to earn a four year degree and go to work in a factory? What is going on here? Unfortunately, you will not find a single verse in the Bible which tells you what you ought to do after you graduate from high school. Should you go to college? In state or out of state? Public or private? Lutheran or not? And heaven forbid, you might actually decide that you don’t even need a bachelor’s degree, so you don’t even need to go away to school! Could it be that you might enjoy working on cars or fixing plumbing systems, and that you might want to go to technical school in your community in order to learn a trade? Might you actually like living in your hometown, around your church, family and friends. Could it be even that you see no desire to go off to exotic Seward or St. Paul, for more schooling? But what will your parents think? What will your classmates think, when they are living it up in the dorms and you are working a full time job in your hometown? Well, ask yourself what you think of the plumber who saves your house from the burst pipe. Ask yourself what you think of the mechanic who replaces your blown transmission. You might even ask yourself what you think of the man who collects your trash every week. Most of these people do not have college degrees, yet find themselves living normal, happy lives, making a decent wage, raising families, and yes, even still being Christians! To put it plainly, God does not care whether or not you go to college. He does not care whether or not you are awarded a Ph. D. or even graduate high school. In His eyes, you are perfect, just as Christ is perfect, for you have been baptized, and when the Father sees you, he sees Christ. So, you have freedom to choose whether or not you don’t go to college at all, or whether you go to Harvard and earn multiple degrees. In the end, you are baptized, no matter which route you choose, and that makes all the difference. But God does care though about what you do. It is no mistake that 7/10 of the Commandments are focused on your relationship with your neighbors. The Christian, who is totally free, yet totally bound, is free to serve their neighbors in a wide variety of ways. God has given you certain gifts, which He has not given others. For example, are you good at teaching? Be a

teacher. Are you good at fixing things? Be a mechanic. Are you good at playing piano? Be a musician. We certainly need teachers, mechanics and musicians. You could go on and on with questions like these, for each one of us has been created as a unique person, with unique gifts. So how can you best serve your neighbor with these gifts? Possibly more important than what it is you like to do or are good at doing could be the question of “what needs to be done?” Does your community need teachers? Does your community need policemen? Does it need more nurses? Ideally we could match up our gifts with the needs of our neighbors, but sometimes, we must put aside our own desires so that we can serve our neighbors. If you have been given the gifts needed to be a hair dresser, then pursue them and develop them. This might mean going to a vocational school for a few months. If you have been given the gifts to be a nuclear physicist, then pursue them! This will probably mean going to school for the rest of your life! The world needs people to cut hair, and it needs nuclear physicists. We cannot look down on the person who went to two years of technical school and say that they should have pursued a Ph.D. That would be ridiculous! Quite simply, we cannot place a higher value on any vocation over another, as long as they are serving the neighbor. Whether you earn $8.00 an hour or $100,000 a year, you are still serving your neighbor. Should you go to college then? It depends on how you can best serve your neighbor. This might not always mean going to college. It could though actually require you to go to college. Whatever decision you make, don’t enter into it lightly. Talk to your pastor about it. Talk to your parents about it, especially if they are paying for it! And if you find yourself at odds with your parents regarding your decision, remember “We should fear and love God that we may not despise nor anger our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve, obey, and hold them in love and esteem.”

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