August 9: Some Freshman Wisdom

On his Patheos.com blog, Timothy Dalrymple wrote an open letter to college freshmen, encouraging them to become “the individual you most truly…are, the one God dreamt of when he made you—and not the person that you or your parents or friends think you should be.”  His insights included:

▪ Seek wisdom, not merely intelligence: Dalrymple notes that, during his college years, he saw many intelligent people doing foolish and immoral things.  Wisdom is more important and rare than intelligence because it seeks goodness and truth more than personal academic advancement.

▪ Seek betterment, not merely achievement: With hard work, one can accomplish much in school. It takes more virtue and self-awareness, however, to seek a change in character to become the best version of yourself.  And the pay-off is richer.

▪ Seek fellowship, not merely friends: Sharing a common faith is a powerful bond between people. As Dalrymple writes, “It’s a great joy to be surrounded by people your age who love God and seek to live their lives according to His word.”

Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

(1 Chronicles 16:10)

Father, bless all who seek Your face.