There has been a lot of reporting and discussion around the recent “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal that the FBI brought to light on Tuesday, March 12th. Here is a link to the story if you would like to review what has been reported. I would like to share with you my response and why I think this happens. I say “happens” because I think the practice of parents paying colleges or personnel at colleges large sums of money to give their child an advantage in the admissions process happens more than we think and I am not surprised. First and foremost, we are all sinners in need of a Savior. Nobody is immune to committing the crimes that we are talking about in the news. As Christians, I think it’s important to remember three things in light of these circumstances and hopefully learn how it correlates to our relationship with God.
- Pride
Because of The Fall we all will succumb to pride and selfishness. We live in a culture where we want what we want and we want it now. If we start thinking that life is about me and getting what I want, then you start making decisions that will attempt to keep us at the top and will benefit us the most. Having this perspective is not all bad. As Christians we should work hard, utilize the gifts and talents God has given us to glorify Him, but keeping Him first is the key. If the reason that we are getting to the top is so that we can be recognized, celebrated and affirmed, these results will be temporary and we will crave for more and more attention and recognition. Eventually, our moral and/or ethical judgement will get blurred and we will start making decisions that we would never have thought you would make. If we are giving God the glory, not pointing to ourselves but Him when we succeed and achieve great things, we will have a joy and contentment that will last because we understand as believers in Jesus Christ, He gave us the talents, abilities and gifts that allowed us to succeed and He is the one that blesses us in ways that we don’t deserve nor should expect. If we have this perspective we will continually have an outward and not an inward focus which is what Christ had while He was here on earth. Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility value others above yourselves.” Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall”.
2. Identity
There is a question in the “College Essay Preparation Survey” I give juniors that asks, “how would your friends describe you?”. This is an interesting question that gets students to think about what their identity and reputation may be. If you are believer in Jesus Christ and believe that He died for your sins, you should be getting your identity in Him alone. If you are not a believer, you can only get your identity in something that would put you as the focus. There are very nice, kind, thoughtful and generous people who are not Christians. In the end, however, if your identity isn’t in Jesus Christ, you are going to make decisions that help boost your reputation, status and identity. There are also plenty of Christians who do this, don’t get me wrong. Who you associate with and the people you surround yourself with on a regular basis will definitely influence you as well. If you value what others think of you to such an extent that you will make decisions that make sure you stay well respected, popular and successful with those you associate with, you will make choices that are irrational and unethical at some point. This has to happen because it’s no longer truth that is driving your decision making anymore at this point, it’s human expectation and your own understanding. That’s what could have happened in this scandal. It was important enough for the parents to say that their kids went to a certain school to “keep up with” the others in their social circle, so they were willing to make a terrible decision to maintain this identity. The parents may also have put so much importance on where their children went to college because that reflects on their own reputation and status within their circle of influence. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be misled, bad company corrupts good character.”
3. Control
From my perspective, this is the main issue in this “Varsity Blues” admissions scandal. When one has affluence, high status and/or a “popular” reputation with outsiders, they typically have been able to control the circumstances in their life. If the opportunity is there to just pay a bit more money to get what they want or make something go away, they will do it. If they have the capability to do this, why not? This is dangerous however, because one thing that we give up in our lives if we ask Jesus Christ to become our Savior, is control. I have heard talk show hosts, news networks over the past week say, “Although I think what they did was wrong, I can understand why they did it”. Some can chalk up what these parents were doing as “loving” their kids so much they would do anything for them. Ultimately, they had the financial means and an opportunity to control the outcome so that’s what they did just like they may have done in other instances in the past. People say, “the kids we are talking about come from families that already had an advantage and the kids already were going to have opportunities in the future and not have to worry about money”. I completely agree, but when Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”, he is saying that if our hearts are corrupted by selfish motives because we are letting worldly things like money and status drive our decisions, we will continue to make decisions to maintain control. If we cannot submit to God’s will and plan for our lives, then we haven’t given Him control of our lives. We can’t just make him a small compartment in our lives to pull out and use when we want. We need to give Him control of everything in our lives and that includes our future which is unknown and may not go the way we want it to go. Ephesians 1:11 (ESV) says, “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”
Two other articles written on this “Blues Varsity” scandal are below. These are two great perspectives as well.
http://www.breakpoint.org/2019/03/breakpoint-the-college-admissions-scandal/
