Yesterday my oldest grandchild began his freshman year at Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee. My daughter-in-law, Kellie, captured this emotional picture of an embrace between Charlie and his dad, Rusty, as they said their goodbye. While we are proud of him and excited that he will be studying for ministry at a Christian university, his parents (and grandparents) are understandably anxious about Charlie moving away from home for the first time.
It is just one reason why I am empathetic to the scores of parents who repeated this scene over the past days while dropping their children off at secular universities. Some youth leaders estimate that 90% of Christian teenagers who go off to a secular college are lost to the church within three months. The students may still claim to be Christian and visit church when they return home but realistically they are no longer identified with Christ—either by belief or behavior. Even students who were leaders in their church youth groups get sucked into illegal drugs, binge drinking, internet pornography, sexual immorality, and the liberal mind set of the college environment.
Some insist we shouldn’t be too concerned because, “They’ll return to the church years later when they have children or when they face a crises of some kind.” But what about those who don’t ever come back? What about the life-altering wrong decisions that are made during that period? What about the sinful scars that remain for a lifetime? What about the college students who overdose on drugs or are killed in drunk-driving accidents? What about the opportunities to influence others for Christ that are lost, never be recovered? What if Jesus returns before they repent?
When young people fall away from Christ during the college years it’s cause for alarm and the church needs to think seriously about how to prevent them from falling. It’s been said that one evidence of lunacy is to keep doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. How many examples of spiritual disaster will it take before we reconsider the wisdom of sending unprepared eighteen-year-old believers to educational institutions where they are under relentless spiritual attack?
Parents and grandparents need to monitor activity more closely instead of automatically paying tuition even if they realize that they are funding immorality. Church leaders need to find more creative ways to encourage young people to attend church-related schools where the temptations are not as intense. And we all need to be more proactive in preparing our youth to remain faithful to Christ in a pagan environment.
Daniel, as a young man, found himself in a spiritually hostile environment. He had no choice in the matter because his nation had been conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and the most promising young men were whisked off to Babylon to be schooled in the language and customs of the Babylonian culture. “The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service” (1:5).
“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine” (1:8). Daniel remained faithful to God in an environment that was counter to his faith and upbringing. How did he do it?
He began by making up his mind in advance. He didn’t test the alternatives and then make a choice. He was determined from the beginning that he was not going to defile himself.
He courageously stated his desire to be distinctive right up front. He didn’t observe a secret diet without the others noticing. I doubt he walked around at Babylonian get-togethers with a glass of untouched wine in his hand so that no one would ridicule him.
Daniel bonded with other believers. He wasn’t alone in his strong stand. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood with him. The vast majority of our kids who remain faithful in college get involved with an on-campus Christian group where they are somewhat accountable.
Daniel was determined to excel. He didn’t measure success by his popularity. He was determined to stand out from the crowd…physically, intellectually, and spiritually.
God honored Daniel’s courage and dedication. “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning…so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom (1:17-20).
It’s tough to be a Christian on today’s college campus but it’s possible. Ask Daniel.
