✍English Sermon QT for Graduates and moving up (1 Timothy 딤전 6:11-12,졸업과 진급생을 위해)
📜Bible text
“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”(1 Timothy 6:11-12)
🏔Sermon
Three types of people exist in this world. There are the ‘spider’ types.
Just as spiders spin their webs to trap and devour other insects, these people do things to harm and endanger other people. These people can survive only by hurting and harming other people.
Then there are the ‘ant’ types. Ants work industriously day in and day out. These type of people, just like ants, do not hurt others and do not help others; rather, they just work their way through the day, working for themselves and not being harmful or beneficial to others.Most people in the world today probably can be classified as the ‘ant’ type.
Lastly, there are the ‘honey bee’ types. Honeybees are also industrious. But their diligence is not limited to serving solely their own interests; rather, their hard work end up benefiting other people.
No matter what you do in the future, I pray that all of you become the ‘honeybee’ type. Live the life that is beneficial to your neighbors, just as lives of honeybees help others. If you cannot be a honeybee, then at least be an ant—being assiduous yet not harmful to others. Do not be the spider—the ones whose existence depends on misery and pain of others.
🍋Then how do we live like a honeybee?
First, we need to inculcate certain values into our characters. Intellect and abilities without virtues are useless and fruitless. There is a famous Korean-American family in the US that boasts 12 doctorate degrees in the family. It is the family of Mrs. Hyesung Chun. Both Mrs. Chun and her husband have Ph. Ds; furthermore, all their six children have doctorate degrees from Harvard or Yale. Their third son, Harold Koh, worked as the senior professor in the law department of Yale University and served as an Assistant Secretary in the State Department. Mrs. Chun, who raised these great children, always stressed one precept to her children as they were growing up:“Do not let your abilities surpass your virtues.”In another words, place greater emphasis on developing one’s virtues rather than focusing on honing one’s abilities.The lesson she taught her children stressed development of their virtues for the purpose of serving the society and becoming a source of benefit for other people.
It is all right to be less than perfect academically. It is okay to lack in some abilities. But do not harm others. Be the indispensable member of this society. Do not be complacent in working towards perfecting your character; always strive to be the virtuous, beneficial person whom others look to for help.
Someone once said that graduation was a “conclusion for a new beginning.”Graduation is a new start, not the end. That is why graduation ceremonies are called “commencements.”“Commencement” means a new start, a new beginning—therefore, graduation is a new start. For those of you awaiting this new beginning, I implore you to forget what’s behinds you. Draft up a great, big dream regarding your future. And in the midst of this dream, always remember that you are the chosen ones of God, His children and His people.
In a letter to his young protégé Timothy, Paul makes the following request.“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”(1 Timothy 6:11-12)
Remember that God gave today’s scripture to all the graduates who will be starting their steps towards their future.You are all people of God.No matter what we do, we must live the precious and beautiful life that is befitting of people of God.I pray and hope that all of your paths will be filled with God’s grace and blessings. Amen.😇
