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Day 17 – Community
The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
One of the first things you will learn during your transition to college is you will be making lots of choices. You get to choose everything from what you want to study to what bank you would like to use. You also get to begin to choose your new community. You have been thrown into a wonderfully diverse mix of people who are from different places, with different backgrounds who think differently than you. You will have many opportunities to connect. You will find others who share your interests. You will find new things you are passionate about. You will have the opportunity to choose with whom you will share
your story. When we share our stories with others we enter into a collective narrative with one another. Whether we admit it or not, these people begin to shape who we are so it is important to choose wisely.
Proverbs tells us to “walk with the wise and become wise.” That is, we become who we are in community with. So when choosing a community ask yourself: who do I want to become? If you lack generosity, choose to be around the most generous people you know. If you want to be a strong leader, choose to be around people who lead well. When choosing our community it is easy to choose people who are like us, but Proverbs challenges us to choose the kind of people we would like to be. When we choose in this way, our community becomes a place where God can refine us into our best selves. It is the place where we can learn and grow and, in many ways, discover parts of ourselves we never knew.
So I challenge you as a freshman to be intentional about your community. Choose wisely. Choose to be around people who are the kind of people you would like to one day become. Allow God to use your community to encourage and shape you into the person He has created you to be.
CHRISTY RIDINGS | Associate University Minister and Director of Spiritual Formation
The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
One of the first things you will learn during your transition to college is you will be making lots of choices. You get to choose everything from what you want to study to what bank you would like to use. You also get to begin to choose your new community. You have been thrown into a wonderfully diverse mix of people who are from different places, with different backgrounds who think differently than you. You will have many opportunities to connect. You will find others who share your interests. You will find new things you are passionate about. You will have the opportunity to choose with whom you will share
your story. When we share our stories with others we enter into a collective narrative with one another. Whether we admit it or not, these people begin to shape who we are so it is important to choose wisely.
Proverbs tells us to “walk with the wise and become wise.” That is, we become who we are in community with. So when choosing a community ask yourself: who do I want to become? If you lack generosity, choose to be around the most generous people you know. If you want to be a strong leader, choose to be around people who lead well. When choosing our community it is easy to choose people who are like us, but Proverbs challenges us to choose the kind of people we would like to be. When we choose in this way, our community becomes a place where God can refine us into our best selves. It is the place where we can learn and grow and, in many ways, discover parts of ourselves we never knew.
So I challenge you as a freshman to be intentional about your community. Choose wisely. Choose to be around people who are the kind of people you would like to one day become. Allow God to use your community to encourage and shape you into the person He has created you to be.
CHRISTY RIDINGS | Associate University Minister and Director of Spiritual Formation
About this Plan
This 40 day prayer plan was written by students, faculty and staff at Belmont University as a daily devotional for incoming freshmen. Each day guides and encourages new college students in their faith in Jesus Christ through the word of God and the sincere thoughts, seasoned advice and honest prayers of the contributing authors. May these words help you grow in your love for God and your love for others!
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We would like to thank the students, faculty & staff of Belmont University for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.belmont.edu
