Like me I’m sure you’ve been appalled at the recently revealed college admissions scandal. Affluent and famous parents bribed or bought their child’s admission into a prestigious university, including paying to have their children’s ACT and SAT tests taken for them or corrected. Why did this happen? Everyone has a theory but for me it comes down to our sinful human desire for control. These parents decided they would exert control and manipulate the system to benefit their kids.
I’ve been thinking about this idea of control in the context of our theme for this school year “You are not alone…you’re connected!” based on John 16:32b-33. Obviously, these parents were NOT using the kind of “connections” these verses are talking about. Instead they wanted to become the master controller of their own lives and those of their children. We need to recognize that God is in control of our lives – all aspects of our life. We need to put everything in His hands and stop trying to control everything on our own – that path leads to ruin as the parents in this latest scandal learned. This includes our children because they don’t belong to us – they were entrusted to us by God to guide and direct. We are a people of faith, hope, and trust in God – not in our own ability to control the world around us. Let’s live the words of 1 Peter 5:6-7: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”