In almost all campuses, you can hardly differentiate students who are Christians from those who are not. Everybody seems to be living in the same way. Christian students tell lie, cheat and are involved in sexual immoralities just like unbelievers. What then is the essence of our being children of God? God wants the way we live our lives to be different from other people who are not believers. Our lives should be different and outstanding!
YOU ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD!
It should be very clear to you as a child of God that you are not a product of the system of this world.
John 15: 19
…you are not of this world, but I chose you out of the world.
You have been chosen out of this world system. What this means is that God separates you from the things that worldly people do that make them worldly. If God separates you then you also should separate yourself by the way you live. Your way of life has to be different from those who are not born again. You can’t afford to tell lie like they do. You can’t be cheating or sleeping around as they do. There should be a clear difference between your life pattern and that of an unbeliever student. Your life is to be a symbol of godliness and virtue. This is what it means not to be of this world. You are simply different in the way you live. You are not of this world. John 17: 14 says, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
YOU ARE OF GOD
Everyone that is born again belongs to God. 1 John 4: 4
You are of God little children…
If you don’t know that you belong to God you may not see the need for you to live different from your friends who are not born again. This is the very essence of you being a Christian. True Christianity is not seen in your going to fellowship or church and neither is it in your singing in the choir. Your true Christian life will be seen in the way you live. If you go to fellowship and sing in the choir and your life is not different from others who are not saved then we need to question the genuineness of your Christian life. 1 John 5: 19 “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.” NLT. Your friends who are not saved are under the control of Satan and that is why they live the way they live but you are born of God.
DON’T LIVE IN SIN
School campuses are often hubs of sin. You can find almost all kind of wrong way of life among students ranging from stealing, lying, cheating, fornication, robbery, occultism, gangsterism to prostitution. You may be tempted with some of these things but you must be conscious of the fact that you are of God and you are different from others who are not saved. You may come across students who will encourage you to join the negative lifestyles on campus. They may tell you something like “Everyone is doing it”, “It is not a big thing” or “You better enjoy your life.” Let me tell you quickly that not everyone is doing those things, and sin a big issue. Look at what 1 john 5: 18 says “We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning…” If you are a child of God you are not to live in sin. It doesn’t matter if your classmates are chasing girls around and if the girls are following sugar daddies. You shouldn’t do what they are doing because you belong to God while they belong to the world. Light and darkness don’t mix. You are light while they are in darkness. The bible says you have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son. Colossians 1: 13 NLT. Do you now see the difference between you and your colleagues who are not saved?
PRACTICAL MATTERS FOR XTIANS STUDENTS
Cheating In Examinations
Cheating has to do with acting dishonestly to gain an advantage or to break rules in order to gain advantage. Therefore anything you do in an exam that breaks any of the rules of the exam is cheating. God is not going to be part of anything dishonest and neither will he approve it. It is wrong to get involved in any form of examination malpractices. It doesn’t matter whether it is intentional or not. The first thing you must do to avoid exam malpractices is to make up your mind not to be involved for any reason. If you don’t make this resolution you may come across situations that you won’t be able to resist. You should also take measure that will makes it difficult for you to get involved in cheating. For example, you can deliberately sit on the first or second row in the examination hall. Most people who want to cheat in exams don’t seat at the front. This will help reduce pressure from people. Also, you can decide not to sit close to your friends in the exams because if they make demand of you to assist them in the exams you may not be able to say no. You should prepare very well for your exams so you won’t be tempted to cheat. If people around your sit are disturbing you, you can request that the invigilator put you in another sit.
The important thing is that you should not be involved in exam malpractice. It will undermine your Christian testimony. Keep in mind that we are children of God and we should not be a part of anything dishonest.
Gossip
This is common among students especially girls though there are boys who are also gossips. What does it mean to gossip? When you discuss the personal details of other people’s lives, whether rumour or fact, in a malicious, hateful, spiteful or mean way you are gossiping. People who gossip don’t see the good in others. They discuss people in a negative way behind their backs. This is not expected of you as a child of God. If your roommates or colleagues are talking negatively about others don’t make any contribution. In addition, you should not initiate a conversation that can end up in gossip. Make a practice of looking for good things to talk about in the lives of others. Psalm 1: 3 discourages us from joining in with mockers. As much as possible discourage your friends from talking about other people in an unpleasant manner. You should be an example of godliness in this area.
QUESTION & ANSWER
Question: I have been following up a 200level boy who gave his life to Jesus not long ago. I do go to his room for follow up but lately I observed that he is always looking at me in a particular way that suggests he is becoming emotional about me. What should I do as I don’t want him to go back into sin?- Sis S.S (Unilorin)
Answer: Your question is a very good one and I have come across a situation like yours. Let me tell you the story of one of my roommates when I was in the university. He was being followed up by a girl but along the line he started developing feelings for the girl. In fact it got so bad that he was down with emotions. I knew his story because he confided in me. My counsel for you as a sincere sister who wants to serve God is simple. Hand the young man over to a mature brother who can effectively follow him up. You don’t have to be the one who will do the follow up. Since he is already emotional about you he is most probably not listening to what you are telling him but thinking about you. This will not help him. In addition, it is not very safe for you as a girl to continue following up a boy that has feelings for you. I do advice students that a brother should follow up a brother and a sister to a sister. You must preserve yourself while doing the work of the Lord. The bible requires us to be wise as serpent and harmless as dove Mathew 10: 16.
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