While thinking about this I realized why many college students may be drawn away from God. Maybe so many college students are drawn away from God during their years at school aside from the lack of discipline of their parents, they are living and planning for the future. I know personally I am planning for the future and wishing almost everyday that I was just done with school and out in the real world doing what I plan on. Does anyone else catch themselves planning and longing for the future? I frequently have feelings of both fear and ambition for the future, but I do not feel as though it is pulling me away from God, does anyone feel like their hopes for the future are pulling them away from God?
What did anyone else think about his message in this letter?
6 comments:
I, like you find myself thinking of what my future holds for me a lot; especially this year, as I will be graduating in a few months. I go through those phases where I wish I knew exactly what my future was going to be, but there is that other part of me that doesn't want to know and be continually surprised. There are also these times where I wish I could just fast forward to the time in my life where I have a decent job, get married, and start my own family. But as I actually reach that time in my life I become so scared, and wish that I could go back to my freshman year and not have to worry about anything.
I completely and totally agree with you. I in fact wrote much the same thing. Being a senior it is hard to live for the present and I am worried and constantly thinking of the future. These things bog all our minds it seems.
I really liked the connection you made with the reading and the apparent lack of faith that is typically found amongst college students. I completely agree and feel that college is a period where students are worried about what they future may hold and what their futures lives will be like; however, i also feel that a lot of college students like to live in the present by enjoying themselves as much as they can and having fun. It just doesn't seem that many students are concerned with any deep, profound issues such as faith, because we are too worried about classes and homework, and in the downtime we really don't want to think about such issues as religion.
Come to think of it, I'm constantly thinking about the future it seems. During middle school I couldn't wait to get to HS, in HS I could wait to get to college, now I can't wait for whatever's next. I honestly don't know what's no appealing about the future all the time. I guess it feels like the future should get easier, even though that's usually not the case. I guess the more important aspect is that with the future comes more rewarding experiences on account of them being more difficult. Throwing religion in here makes things even more difficult because it's a lot easier to fill out applications than get religious stuff straightened out.
Corianna, I feel the exact same was as you do when you discuss planning for the future. I feel as though because I am not very religious to begin with, it doesn't pull me away from God. When I look at the future, or how I hope the future will be, God doesn't really come to mind at all. I think we tend to sometimes overlook religion. Maybe because we feel as though God will always be there no matter what? Kind of like we take him for granted sometimes.... who knows? (yay for our future though!!)
I actually never find myself in this situation. My real goals are abstracts, and far enough in the future that they don't drive me like a maniac to complete them. I really tend to live in the now, and am more concerned with what book I just read than what I'll be doing when I get out of college. I really am a sort of poster boy for what Screwtape was trying to discourage in chapter 12. I'm not sure that this, though, is completely devoid of sin, though, since it is the same kind of self focus on a particular time, just a different one.
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