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 Moving
Forward
An Inspirational Speech delivered
by Atty. Rommel Casis
MMCC Campus Academic Awards Night 2008
CAP Building, Makati City, June 1, 2008
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To
our students, graduates, parents and guests, good
evening. I am honored to have been invited by the
organizers of the Campus Academic Awards Night
to give the inspirational talk tonight.
Being
here brings back many fond memories of being a part
of the campus ministry. In the course of this message
I will share with you some of these memories.
Let
me begin by first sharing how this Campus Academic
Awards Night began. Sometime in late 1993 or early
1994, Tony and Aimee Kettering were then leading the
campus ministry of the entire church here in Metro
Manila and I was a Political Science student in UP.
I was in the house of Tony and Aimee, when someone,
I believe it was Tony who suggested having an awards
night for campus students. The idea was inspired by
the Academy Awards in the US. So along with the other
campus leaders at that time, we began planning the
first Academic Awards Night which was held in the
GSP Auditorium in Manila. To this day I remember how
the first Academic Awards Night looked like and how
it felt like. I know for many of you, this will be
a night you will not forget.
For
some of you, tonight is a confirmation that all the
hard work and sacrifice you have endured as a student
and as a parent are worth it. For some of you who
may have not done so well as a student, tonight could
be the turning point where you make the decision to
change and be excellent from now on.
My
goal tonight is to share with you some lessons I learned
through my life experiences. I hope that these lessons
will help you in your own journey.
Lesson
1. Excellence Is the Path to Godliness
One
of my favorite scriptures as a campus student was
1 Ti 4:12. It says:
12
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are
young, but set an example for the believers in speech,
in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
I
used this scripture to remind me that God expected
me as a Christian to not only be an example, but to
set an example. Striving to be the best or excellent
in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity
is expected of every Christian. Certainly being an
excellent student is expected of every Christian student.
I needed to constantly remind myself of this because
it was so tempting to be lazy as a student. Students,
can you relate?
But
more than the expectation, as a young campus student
I recognized early on that academic excellence was
my protection against the darkness in the world. Excellence
was the key to remaining godly despite the evil in
the world. Specifically, I understood that academic
excellence was my weapon to overcome persecution and
corruption in the world.
a.
Persecution
I
became a Christian when I was a 17 year old freshman
in UP in 1991. That was a difficult time in the campus
ministry as it was the height of the persecution against
us. The campus newspaper, other students, some parents,
and university officials, were against us and labeled
us a cult. The campus ministry was even featured on
TV and many negative statements about the church came
out. We were hated, despised, humiliated and accused.
It was a very difficult time for us.
Aside
from my relationship with God and with Christians,
my weapon against the persecution was academic excellence.
By excelling in school I wanted to show our persecutors
that we were not the delinquents they accused us of
being. By doing well academically, we could show fellow
students and our parents that it is possible for someone
to be a disciple of Jesus and be excellent academically.
As the Bible says:
For
it is God's will that by doing good you should silence
the ignorant talk of foolish men. [1 Pe 2:15]
b.
Corruption
When
I became a Christian I realized that there were things
I can no longer do. This included lying or corrupting
my way to get what I want. But I also realized that
corruption was a way of life in our country. It's
difficult to succeed without being corrupt. So I thought,
"How can I maintain my righteousness and yet
be successful in world full of corruption?" I
realized that some people were forced to take jobs
that required them to sin simply because they could
not get any other job. So I reasoned this way, "If
I become excellent in what I do, I will have more
options in the kind of job I will take. If I can be
one of the best I will have the ability to choose
the kind of work I will do."
So
I pushed myself hard in school both academically and
in extra-curricular activities. While maintaining
my academic standing I became active in student debate
competitions. By participating and winning in these
competitions, I was able to build a reputation for
excellence. This opened up doors for me in the future.
Before
I leave this issue of academic excellence, let me
reiterate that I believe that without guidance from
the Bible, I would not have excelled academically.
I could excel academically because I was a Christian
not in spite of my being a Christian. In fact, I believe
that if only I was more committed to the Bible, I
would have accomplished more academically.
As
a student I found constant inspiration in the words
of Psalm 119:97-100
PS 119:97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
PS 119:98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever with me.
PS 119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
PS 119:100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
I
am convinced that much of our success in academics
depends on how much we meditate and obey the scriptures.
Students by meditating on the scriptures, we can be
wiser than our enemies and even some of our teachers.
Through obedience to the scriptures we develop character,
perseverance, faith, discipline and self-denial. These
are all essential qualities in achieving academic
excellence. As the Bible says, "I can do everything
through him who gives me strength."
Lesson
2. Follow Your Design
God
created us all different. We have different strengths
and weaknesses. We have different life experiences.
We have different skills and talents. We all are uniquely
designed by God.
Stephen
Covey in the 8the Habit says: "When you engage
in work that taps your talent and fuels your passion
- that rises out of a great need in the world that
you feel drawn by conscience to meet - therein lies
your voice, your calling, your soul's code."
Each
of us needs to do what we are designed to do. Much
of the heartache that we experience in our life is
trying to be what we are not meant to be. Until we
find the path we are designed to take, we will never
be fulfilled. Yes, it is possible for us to have great
accomplishments even if we are on the wrong path.
But no matter how much we accomplish, if we are not
fulfilling our purpose, our design, whatever we accomplish
will be meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Six
years ago I graduated from law school and passed the
bar. Because I was in the top ten of my graduating
batch in UP, I had many options on where I could work.
I could have gone to the Supreme Court and worked
for a justice. I could have worked for the government.
But like most law graduates I chose to work for a
law firm because it was more prestigious to do so.
Because we were in the top ten, many law firms wanted
to hire us. In the end, I chose the law firm that
offered the most money. It was fun the first year
or so, but it wasn't very long when I realized that
perhaps this is not what I was designed to do. I was
getting paid more money than most of my batch mates.
I had a nicer office, better technical and administrative
support, medical benefits but I was unhappy. I was
miserable.
The
problem was simple. God didn't design me to be a corporate
lawyer. So no matter what I achieved as corporate
lawyer, I will never be fulfilled. Although I could
be good at the skills needed by a corporate lawyer,
I could not be great at it because that was not what
I was designed to do.
So
what was I designed to do?
I
realized that my greatest skills are learning, teaching
and communicating. I find my greatest joy in understanding
and explaining ideas and concepts to people. I love
teaching. In short, I realized that God designed me
to teach. I knew that for some time but I was afraid
to accept it because I knew teaching (whether as a
professor of law or as a minister) was not a financially
stable career. But God was patient in making things
clear to me and at the end of last year I resigned
from the law firm so I can do what I am created to
do. Now I am teaching.
I
have less money now, less prestige, no nice office,
and no health benefits. But I am happier. I believe
the reason for this "peace that transcends understanding"
is that the life I live today is feeding the hunger
of my soul.
So
I ask you now students, what will determine your career
choice? Will you choose a career simply because it
will pay you the most money? Or will you choose the
career that will allow you to fulfill God's design
for your life? Will your career feed the hunger of
your soul?
Lesson
3. Never Stop Learning
T.S.
Eliot once said, "We must never cease from exploring.
At the end of all of our exploring will be to arrive
at where we began and know the place for the first
time."
We
should never stop learning. We should love learning.
Law
school was very challenging. It required us to study
many hours everyday. I used to think that once I finished
law school I didn't have to study as much. I was wrong.
Whether as a practicing lawyer or a professor of law,
I constantly need to study. I realize now that in
any career that is also true. We cannot afford to
stop learning. We need to learn new skills and further
develop old skills.
We
should never stop learning.
This
is also true in dating relationships, marriages or
parenting. We should never stop learning. As Jesus
said, we are to take our yoke and learn from him.
We
don't stop learning once we graduate. In fact, graduation
is simply moving forward from a small university to
the biggest one. The university is called planet earth
and there is only one course, B.S. Life and we are
all enrolled in it. There is only one semester and
it ends on the day you die or when Jesus comes back,
whichever comes first. There are only two grades possible
on examination day: pass or fail. Whether or not we
are ready for examination day, will be determined
by what we learn during the course.
We
are all students in this course called Life. What
are you learning? Do you still have the heart to learn?
Or do you compare yourself with a delinquent classmate
and think that you already know enough? Are you ready
for examination day?
In
closing, let us be reminded of Phil 3:12-14 which
says:
Not
that I have already obtained all this, or have already
been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of
that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers,
I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of
it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Students,
it is time to press on and take hold of your destiny.
It is time to move forward and press on toward the
goal of our lives.
To
our students, graduates, parents and guests, I wish
you all a memorable and meaningful night.
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