Exams?

Being a mass comm graduate myself, it does help me to realize how the media plays such a huge way of affecting the way we understand things. It's not an immediate effect, it's something that slowly drums into your mind - the moment you wake up from your bed, advertisements ARE everywhere around you. Try observing and see, you'll know what I mean!

The ways of the world tells not only you but the people around you that becoming rich and successful, appearing famous and good looking is a NEED and not a "bonus" anymore. And one assured way to get there would be to score flying colours in your exams.. and then life will be pretty smooth-sailing from there!

So what happens next naturally?

"EXAMS IS HERE!"

Now the very natural response to that would be, "I'll hide at home and study until I drop dead." Even I myself was a victim to that mentality - frankly speaking!

But the real problem is, life isn't going to come in a period where it tells you "Exams are coming, start studying!" It comes in times where you least expect it and the bigger question would be - "How have you been preparing for times like these?"

We think that by doing fantastically well in our exams when we hid in our rooms to study hard.. when our parents nod their heads in approval.. we think that we're on our way there to be that successful looking guy or girl on that billboard at the huge highway. But the stark reality actually speaks otherwise.

The point here is this - a genuine exam results is not based on last minute cramming and memorization of academic notes. It's merely a test done to see how your previous ways of studying methods has been proven to be effective.. or not. Like how Gary always tell me, "It just indicates something."

If there's ever a time that exams "excuses" us to give the Lord the worship due to His honour and name, to serve others during their time of need or even encouraging others by being at Youth for instance - that too, strongly indicates something. Let's be honest with ourselves, can a total of 10 hours at most out of your 100 waking hours throughout the week really affect your results during examination period?

No doubt we ought to start shifting/sacrificing certain amount of hours to dedicate more focus on studying just as a certain crisis in life would naturally demand more of our time and attention to it at that period but it should never ever replace God's position in our hearts! The sooner you start preparing yourselves to manage your priorities and time in the perspective of how God would want you to do it - the sooner your foundation is set on the right track.

In a certain sense, it's an exam to our faith as the verse goes in 1 Peter 1: 6b -7:-

.. though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Do you compromise your worship for God during times of examinations?

Because once you let that sinful mentality fester into your relationship with God, it's only a matter of time where it grows bigger and eventually, you just put God in a small little box. Everything else would be widely displayed to grab your attention - Scholarships to overseas, job offers, salary raise, travel bonuses and a whole long list "awesome" deals that the world tells you - "You're living the ideal life!" It's worth sacrificing everything else (obviously including your love and worship for God) to achieve it!

"How then? You want me to fail my exams ah? My parents will first kill you, then kill me!"

Well, I'd say, pray and ask God - "How would you want me to obey you as your child, a child to my own family, a youth, a friend to my friends and a student in this school?" Because once you set God as your foundation, even though refined through the hot burning furnace, your faith would prove to be genuine and real, even at times of crisis.

- daryl 's u n d a e' heng

Images taken from:
http://www.gtburlington.org/media.php?we=we&med=s
http://www.braintrack.com/college-and-work-news/articles/colleges-ease-stress-of-final-exams-10121301
http://www.marieclaire.com/career-money/advice/are-you-underpaid