Worth it

I got to experience working this last Saturday with the Presidential Scholarship Competition here on campus where they give out the biggest scholarships based on an essay competition. I worked in the sound booth and got to listen to the lecture for the topic of the essay, and then I got to listen to the Admissions and Financial Aid people give their presentations to the parents. It made me start to think about something that I touched on in my last post. How do we justify spending such large amounts of money on our education when there are people dying every day from the simple things we take for granted. I sat and listened to the Financial Aid people talk to the parents about funding their child's education and I just felt like this question was on a lot of people's minds (ok, so maybe they were less worried about dying people and more concerned about the economy).

There is no getting around the fact that it does cost a lot to go to college these days whether it's a large state school or a smaller private university like Bluffton. The question must be asked, then, how do we balance the moral demands for good stewardship of the gifts God has given us with an expensive education. In my last post I think I talked about taking advantage of all that Bluffton has to offer me, and, while I think that that is an important part of the answer, I also think that there is something bigger. In reflection, I believe that I can justify the money I spent here (or the debt I've accrued) based on the fact that I recognize that Bluffton has changed my life in such a way that it has pushed me to a desire to allow God to work through me to change my world. Bluffton has helped open my eyes to the call to build "God's universal kingdom" to the effect that I recognize my life means very little unless it is spent in the service of others. I could have gone to any other school, gotten my degree, found a job for my-self so that I can use my money to support my-self so that I can make my-self happy.

Sounds pretty empty to me.

Tonight we had a joint session of the senior capstone class that everyone has to take eventually. In this class we learn about ourselves and how we fit into a global community. We watched a movie called "The Motorcycle Diaries" that chronicled the journey of the Cuban revolutionary leader Che Guevera across South America. Along the journey he realized that he couldn't just see the poverty and the hurting of the world and say "oh that's too bad" and move on. Along the journey he realized that both his heart and his life must be among the poor and the hurting in order to change his world. Granted, his ideologies led him to use violence as a means of advancing the interests of the poor, but watching this movie helped me to understand the context out of which Guevera came: a cruel world that refused to listen to the cries of the poor.

Along the journey I have learned that a life lived only for myself is hardly a life at all. I have learned that my hope means nothing until it means something for everyone.

So when people ask me if it is worth the money to have attended Bluffton, I could talk about all the great friends I've made, the neat opportunities, or the interesting class discussions, but that answer would be incomplete. I guess for me to truly answer that question, I would have to ask it right back. Has Bluffton changed me in a way that affects everyone I come in contact with? Has Bluffton pushed me to bring salt and light to the hurting and broken places of the world? Have I been challenged to lead a life contrary to the popular notion that everything is all about me?

So, was it worth the money? You tell me.