Tag Archives: pursuing dreams

Higher Education?

Lake Ingle was a typical teenager, hoping to pursue higher education after graduating from high school.  Initially wanting to play sports in college, Ingle choose Indiana University of Pennsylvania to pursue this dream.  However, after Lake realized his athletic abilities weren’t good enough to compete at this level of competition, Ingle decided to turn his attention toward academics.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh, Genesis 2:24.

Now a senior, this religious studies major made national news for being kicked out of class recently.  During a Christianity 481: Self, Sin and Salvation lecture, Ingle became offended by something professor Alison Downie taught.  After a 20 minute video on mansplaining, sexism from men and male privilege, professor Downie asked students for their thoughts. When none of the women spoke up, Lake stood up for his beliefs which are supported by the Bible, claiming there are only 2 genders.  For acting upon his conviction, Lake Ingle has been barred from this class, citing the class disruption policy at IUP.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. Proverbs 18:22.

A little over 20 years ago, I moved from the mid-west to seek a masters in theological studies on the east coast.  During a visit to one of my potential seminaries, I meet with the dean of academics of a school in Pennsylvania.  During this conversation, I interrupted this woman briefly to reply to  a shocking comment.  Instead of studying the Bible in its proper historical context, this school believed in allowing each student to come up with different conclusions on their own.  In the other words, there is no absolute truth.  Whenever I hear reports from institutions of higher learning like at IUP, this crisis of faith is a by product of the elimination of absolute truths.  Unless this trend is reversed, the term higher education will merely be a word, not reality.

by Jay Mankus

Quitters Focus on the Wrong Things

1. Success is the process of arriving, not victory.

Instant gratification often causes the casual athlete, fan or participant to give up before seeing the fruits of their labor.  Christian apologist Clive Staples Lewis defines success as the process of arriving in his book Mere Christianity.  Unfortunately, a spirit of perfection leads many to fail to comprehend this mindset.  Thus, every year individuals stop pursuing their dreams, end a career prematurely or quit their jobs due to a lack of satisfaction.

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established, Proverbs 16:3.

2. Failure is a blue print for knowing what does not work.

In 1994, my fiance gave me her blessing to pursue professional golf in 1995.  I spent the first three months playing on the Tommy Armour Tour, a mini-tour based in Florida.  The day before my first tournament, I completely changed my swing.  After three humbling tournaments, I made my way up north to Ohio before participating in Qualifying School on Vancouver Island for the Canadian P.G.A. tour.  After being even par after 4 holes, I fell apart missing the 36 hole cut.  Looking back, if I would have waited one year before turning professional, I would have had a better chance.  Yet, for now, I know what not to do.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever, Psalm 73:26.

3. Humility strips away pride, prompting hearts to trust in God, not self.

One of the hardest things to determine in life is knowing when to say when.  For me, it didn’t take long for me to realize I didn’t belong on the P.G.A. tour.  Facing failure tends to strip away arrogance, especially when you come to the reality “I can’t do this.”  However, today I struggle with determining if I have done everything possible in power to ensure success.  In the past, when I’ve allowed frustration to dictate my decision making, I quit before the timing was right.  Therefore, before you make a rash decision in the future, make sure you trust in the Lord’s understanding instead of yourself.

In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight, Proverbs 3:6.

by Jay Mankus