Many were quite glad to hear the announcement our prime minister made that schoolwork will be reduced, and that we can learn more with less. This is certainly a good signal to us that there are more important things in life than mere academic performance.

This pursuit has unfortunately become a major theme in Singaporean life, as can be seen in almost every school and household at this time of the year! The stress of unceasing tests and exams affects teachers, students and parents alike. In some families, parents are far more interested in their children’s academic performance than in their children!

Many see education as a means of attaining one’s ambitions for power, prestige, popularity and position. Paper qualifications are regarded as the all-essential key that unlocks the door to a life of comfort, affluence, status, luxury and ease.

Unfortunately many Christian have become inordinately engrossed with the paper chase, at the expense of other important aspects of life. Some would compromise on their Quiet Time, their reading of God’s Word, and most of their spiritual activities because "studies must come first." Attendance at church and fellowship meetings typically falls whenever exams come. Perhaps we need to ask: Has the pursuit of academic excellence become the new idolatry of Christians today, for which we willingly devote all our time and energies?

On the other hand, there are students who are quite indifferent toward their studies, and who require much external motivation and ‘rewards’ to fulfil their most basic student responsibilities. The attitude that they have toward their studies does not help their Christian testimony at all. Some would put the blame for this on the school environment, on the quality of teachers or tutors, or on peer group influence. But very often, the prime cause is to be found in the attitudes of the students themselves.

As Christians we need to have the right attitudes toward academic studies that will help us to maintain a good balance. Let us consider three principles from God’s Word that should moderate our approach to studies.

Christ has full rights to Lordship by His costly redemption of our souls from sin and eternal death. We must let Him exercise His rights as Lord of our lives.1 Corinthians 6:20 – "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." His Lordship must be exercised in every area of our lives, including our studies.

But what does it really mean, in practical terms, to give priority to Jesus Christ, and to subordinate our studies to Him? Colossians 3:2 tells us, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." To set one’s affection on something is to let one’s mind be controlled by a particular inclination. Thus students must be careful not to let their minds be controlled by a desire to obtain better grades than all their peers, or by a desire for good paper qualifications, or even by a desire for a very promising career.

Students, if God were to ask you in no uncertain terms to forsake your academic pursuits for Him right now, would you be able to do it? (Note: not everyone will be asked by the Lord to do this, just as not everyone will be asked, like Abraham, to sacrifice his only son.) This was a question I had to answer 21 years ago. I was faced with the decision of whether or not to terminate my university education halfway, when I was sure that the Lord wanted me to serve Him fulltime. By God’s grace, I finally heeded His call and discontinued my studies to prepare for fulltime service.

Many people thought that it was foolish of me to throw away such a good opportunity. And they said that I should have completed my course first, and then heed God’s call to serve Him, with the added advantage of a secular degree. But the issue was one of obedience – who is more important to me: God, or my career? If we call Jesus "Lord" do we show it in our daily living and in the choices that we make? Is He really the Lord of every area of your life, including your studies?

The second principle that must moderate our attitudes to studies is that it is not to be an end in itself, but a means to bring glory to the Lord. This is stated in 1 Corinthians 10:31 – "Whether therefore ye eat or ye drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." In whatever we do, our concern must always be how we can glorify the Lord through it.

We are to glorify God not only when we come to church on Sundays to worship Him, not only at moments when we pray to Him, and not only when we talk to others about God. We are to glorify God in the ordinary things that we do each day: in our work, in our play, and even in eating and drinking.

But many tend to divide their lives into neat well-defined compartments: a sacred compartment and a secular compartment. Going to church, spending time in prayer and witnessing belong to the sacred compartment, and are done for the Lord. But all other activities belong to the secular compartment, and are not done for the Lord. As Christians, we should do everything for the Lord. For students, that includes their studies. They would ask: "How can our studies be used as a means for glorifying the Lord?"

Firstly, by consistent, disciplined effort made in our studies, not just at exam time, but throughout the whole year. Ecclesiastes 9:10 – "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Christians should be exemplary students, regular in attendance, attentive at lectures, handing up assignments on time, and faithful in revision and project work. We bring glory to God before our peers when they can see such virtues in us.

On the other hand, if we are always irresponsible and sloppy in our work, inattentive during lectures, and producing poor quality results due to carelessness and last-minute work, we can hardly give others any reason to glorify our Lord.

Some students are blessed by God with the ability to get the top marks quite effortlessly. Those who are able to achieve that have a unique opportunity to glorify God when people inquire how they managed to do it. In March or April every year, just after the O and A level results are released, many will be interested in reading newspaper articles about the top students to discover their secrets to gain success and perfect scores. And most of the top students would attribute success to their own hard work, encouraging teachers, supportive parents, or diligent practice.

Have you ever read any article where a Christian student testifies that it was the Lord’s grace that gave him academic success? Why is there such reluctance to give glory to God for this? Perhaps the Lord may bless some of our Christian students with the opportunity to testify like this one day!

Another way that students can glorify God in their studies is by using their knowledge to help fellow students who are academically weak. This is one area where there are opportunities to show Christian love to others and to be a blessing unto them. Among your classmates you will probably know of some who have difficulty in understanding lessons, or who just do not have the right method of study. As a Christian, you can offer to help them.

If you are able to take down good, orderly and comprehensive notes during lectures, or you have the ability to make clear and easy-to-understand summaries of difficult subjects, make them available to others. This may involve some sacrifice on your part, as you may need to spend a little extra time with those who need your help. But this sacrifice is worthwhile when people come to regard you as a helpful and concerned friend to them, and God is glorified when they know that you are a Christian. And as a bonus, your own understanding of the subject will improve tremendously, for there is no better way to learn something, than to teach it!

A third way of glorifying God in your studies is by doing all these things while at the same time being involved in Christian service. People around you will gradually come to know about your involvement in Church or in a Christian fellowship group. Your involvement in Bible study or in Christian service will not go unnoticed. And if they know about your involvement in these things, and at the same time they see you doing well in your studies and helping those who are weak in their studies, this combination will make an impact upon them.

But it is not easy to do this. In our own strength alone, we will utterly fail. We need the application of one more principle:

With all the tutorials to prepare for, assignments to write, books to read and projects to do, studying can be a really great task for most students. And these have to be done while keeping up with co-curricular activities (CCA) and family expectations and commitments. Students attempt to cope with these things and with all the stress they generate in different ways. Some are able to find solace in their peers, but some end up in depression. For the Christian student, the best way to cope with all these things is to seek God’s help and to surrender oneself and one’s expectations entirely to Him.

The biblical account of Joseph’s life records that although he could have easily wallowed in unproductive self-pity and resentment when his own brothers sold him as a slave to Egypt, he surrendered himself to God’s purposes for him there. It was only by doing this that he succeeded in rising up from being a despised foreign slave to becoming an eminent prime minister.

What was the source of Joseph’s success? Let Genesis 39:3,23 provide the answer for us: "And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand…The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper."

In order to find our sufficiency and strength in God like Joseph did, we need to pray. In prayer we can seek for divine enablement and blessing upon our studies. We can pray that He who created our minds will grant us the ability to understand, retain and reproduce whatever we have studied. James 1:5 tells us, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

We can ask the Lord for wisdom to choose the right approach for studying each subject. For instance, certain subjects require students to remember a long sequence of facts, figures and events, while other subjects require a lot of mental reasoning instead of memory work. A mind that is sanctified by God, and a heart that trusts in the Lord’s divine enablement will provide the best potential to discern and apply useful approaches to master each subject.

Besides that, we should always seek God’s wisdom to organise our time well enough so that we can meet all our responsibilities and commitments. We can also pray for wisdom when we need to decide which school, stream or combination of subjects we should choose.

Dear Christian student, before you do anything, please remember to pray! Pray before you do your assignments. Pray before each test you take, each quiz and each exam. In time you will be able to see the difference that trusting God in prayer has made in your studies. Dear Christian parent, learn to trust in God for your child’s academic success. Worrying will not avail as much for your child as praying for him will (Philippians 4:6; James 5:16).