It’s 11pm. And I have a midterm tomorrow morning at 8am. And let me just say that I am not worried about it all.
You know, my attitudes about studying in seminary are quite different than in undergrad. I think one of the most striking ways my attitudes have changed is how I’ve dropped the pressure to perform well in seminary.
Back in undergrad, I’d be up at 4am studying to do well on an exam, so that I’d do well in the class, so that I’d do well in my degree, so that I’d do well in my career…you get the point.
But it’s not like that in seminary.
I’m no longer studying to do well on exams; I’m studying to learn.
And there’s a big difference between the two. The former is good for regurgitating; the latter is good for transformation. When I think about the content I’m learning, I’m not thinking about whether it’s going to be on the exam or not. I’m thinking about how this content is going to help me love Jesus more and help me to minister to others.
My motivation is faithfulness.
Faithfulness is a much better motivator than performance. So when exam time rolls around, I’m really not too concerned about whether I do well or not. I’m concerned at how faithful I was in Jesus’ eyes with the content presented before me in turning that into loving Him and loving others. Of course, I’m sure how well I do on the exam is an indicator of how well I learned, but sometimes it’s really not.
On top of that, this is another reason why I’m up at 11pm blogging instead of last minute cramming.
