Love God with Your Mind

The day I almost dropped Greek changed the way I viewed college.

After my first exam, I walked to the front of the classroom to turn in my test. My professor slid a course withdrawal form across the desk and said, “I thought you might need this.” He smiled when he said it, but he was not joking.

When I insisted I wasn’t dropping the class, he explained why he thought I should. “Students like you are always talking about serving Jesus someday, but you aren’t taking your preparation seriously today. You make spiritual excuses for not doing your homework.”

I left that classroom frustrated, but not because he had insulted me. I was frustrated because he was exactly right. I had convinced myself that serving Christ happened in church, on mission trips, and during Bible studies, but I had never considered that studying for an exam could also be an act of worship. That conversation changed the way I approached every classroom for the rest of college.

Worship God in the Classroom

When Jesus was asked to identify the greatest commandment, He said we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Most Christians understand what it means to love God with their hearts and serve Him with their strength, but we often overlook the command to love Him with our minds.

Paul reminds believers that “whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). He also writes, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23). Those verses include much more than church activities. They include papers, projects, presentations, reading assignments, and late nights preparing for exams. When you study faithfully because Christ is worthy of your best effort, your education becomes an act of worship.

Steward the Opportunity God Has Given You

A college education is a tremendous gift. Around the world, countless people would gladly trade places with you if they had the opportunity. God has entrusted you with a mind to develop, professors to learn from, and years intentionally set aside for preparation. Jesus taught that “to whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48), and that principle certainly applies to our education.

Whether you are preparing for ministry, medicine, business, education, or engineering, your studies are preparing you for a lifetime of serving Christ. Do not waste this season simply trying to survive your classes. Invest in the opportunity God has placed before you and develop the gifts He has entrusted to your care.

Pursue Excellence with Humility

Christians should never settle for mediocrity. We should strive to do our very best because our work represents Christ. Excellence earns influence, and influence creates opportunities to point people to Jesus. At the same time, Scripture reminds us that knowledge by itself can produce pride, while true wisdom is accompanied by humility (1 Corinthians 8:1; Proverbs 11:2).

Work hard. Prepare well. Learn your craft. Then remember that every ability, opportunity, and accomplishment is ultimately a gift from God. Excellence is never about making much of ourselves. It is about making much of Christ.

That Greek professor never convinced me to drop his class. Instead, he challenged me to rethink my purpose for learning. I eventually completed five semesters of Greek and even translated portions of the New Testament, not because I suddenly became naturally gifted, but because I finally understood that loving Jesus includes loving Him with all of my mind.