The more I think about my future college endeavors, the more I think “is it worth it?” By that I mean, is it worth going to school for that long of a period, postponing my life and the things I could be doing for the Kingdom sooner, and spending all that money on my education (especially in grad school and seminary)? Is it really worth all of that?

I think about how awesome it would be to, not only be a pastor of a church (that is my first and foremost calling), but to be able to teach students every day who are passionate about learning the very things that I am passionate about. Teaching the very Word of God in a college to a number of students each semester, impacting their lives so that they too can go out and do the work of the Father. Thinking in those terms, I’m empowering those future students with the knowledge needed to further the Gospel—and, if it’s me teaching, you can be guaranteed that it will be the Truth of the Word, and not some biased, agenda filled curriculum. The thousands of students’ lives that God will touch through me in a classroom setting in my years of teaching, together as a whole those students could to more than I could ever do on my own.

On the contrary, I think about the nations and peoples that have never heard the Gospel. While I’m here seeking my education for the next ten years, spending the money I’ll be spending in pursuit of that education, so that I can do a work that I won’t even get around to doing in the next eleven years; those people will be lost in darkness. Can I really afford to wait that long to make a difference in the world? To them, it doesn’t matter how many degrees I hold or what letters follow my name, all that matters is the message of hope that I bring them—the hope that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, the question is, is it really worth it?