The following essay was written by my fourteen-year-old daughter, Anne Mary Russell. I hope you enjoy it!
Worldviews on College Campuses, by Anne Mary Russell
One lie can change an entire life. My worldview determines how I think, what I say, and how I act. If my worldview is wrong, my thoughts, my words, and my actions will be wrong. If I base my life on a lie, the consequences last both now, and in the next life. It is vital to know and cling to the truth, lest we are destroyed.
Having a biblical foundation based on the sixty-six books canonized by the church is important, because unless we are grounded in what is true, we will quickly be pulled into what is false. On college campuses we are surrounded by conflicting worldviews, or conflicting filters by which people process the information they receive. False ideas can look and feel good, so it is foolish to hope that we can know the truth by instinct. The best test for something’s trueness or falseness is how it lines up to the Bible. When Paul instructs Titus on the qualifications for an elder , he says that each elder should be “holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” We have to know the truth before we can recognize lies. We should be able to think, and not merely accept, whatever is presented.
We cannot disregard the very word of God, our foundation. Peter calls believers to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” We must be ready with the truth.
What we say is important, and so is how we say it. As a freshman in high school, I went to English Conversations Club, a group where ESL students can come and practice English in a safe environment. Often the subject of religion would come up in our conversations, and in a discussion of this kind, two groups of people would emerge. Those in the first, would speak clearly and honestly about their beliefs. They gained respect from the whole group, even those who disagreed with them. Those from the second, would give vague answers, or agree with whatever opinion was popular in the group, thereby losing respect.
It is the same in college. Those who know what they believe have more weight to their words than those who spit forth flimflam. It is impossible to explain your beliefs well to another person unless you understand them yourself. A solid foundation will support us in conversation; a shaky foundation will not.
In his curriculum Understanding the Times, David A. Noebel said this: “Competing worldviews are breaking out everywhere if only we have eyes to see, ears to hear and minds to think true thoughts. They are propagated at newsstands and on the evening news and played out at the United nations, in the halls of Congress, and most assuredly at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, UC Berkley, and yes, even the local community college.” In an environment full of competing worldviews, we must be able to speak the truth, and speak it clearly.
We can know the truth, and we can speak the truth, but our head knowledge and our words only matter if the truth is in our hearts transforming us. The only way to have salvation and eternal life is through faith and hope in Jesus Christ as the only Savior, and this faith will change those who have it. This faith will transform an entire life, and those who possess it cannot keep silent, cannot sit back or follow the crowd. The life given to Jesus Christ will be affected by Christ, and will affect those around it.
True success on college campuses, and wherever we are, means that our thoughts, our actions, our words, and our very hearts are rooted in a biblical worldview. Knowing the truth, and having the courage to reflect that truth in our thought, speech, and actions will pave the way for true success on a college campus, as well as in our future endeavors.
Works Cited
Noebel, David A. “Introduction Part One.” Introduction. Understanding the times. Manitou Springs, CO: Summit, 2006. 2. Print.
Titus. NKJV. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
