A short speech that I gave as part of my high-school graduation ceremony…

Mr. Longbrake, Pastor Moir, Pastor Thien, Pastor Tedder, Mr. Bollman, parents, graduates and guests:

I am honored to have the privilege of addressing you this evening.

Abraham Lincoln once was required to give a speech, and in it he said, “the world will little note nor long remember what we say here.”  Ironically we have remembered his speech for over a hundred years. Now, I know that graduation speeches are often quickly forgotten, so I thought the story seemed somewhat appropriate, and I hope that my speech tonight will not be forgotten too quickly.

First of all tonight I would like to thank my parents, and on behalf of my class, all of our parents.   As I was preparing for my speech, I thought about other schools across the country. At many schools, neither students nor parents choose to go to their particular school.  And neither do parents pay tuition at many schools.

Because our parents have chosen to send us to Blackhawk, we know that they love us.   They sacrifice on our behalf so that we can benefit from a good, Christian education.

I also want to thank my parents for all their love; I know that they have sacrificed many things for me, but also they have taught me so much.  My parents taught me how to live.   I have grown up in the church, and my parents have taught me to have high standards and to do what pleases God.   My parents have also taught me to make wise decisions.  Even today, I am learning from my dad how to manage my money and my time.  Managing our money and our time are two very important things which need to be managed wisely.  I am very thankful for the wisdom I have gained from my parents regarding how to make wise choices.

Besides teaching me how to live, my parents have taught me how to learn.  It was my mom who taught me how to read and write, making sure I wrote neatly when I was young.  My parents have encouraged me to do my best and have rewarded me for my achievements.   I often go to my dad when I want to understand something better and he helps me decide what kind of plans I should make for college.   My parents are a great source of guidance and wisdom, smothered in love.   Thanks, Mom and Dad, for teaching me how to live and how to learn.  I love you very much.

Having had both my mom and my dad as teachers at various times throughout my school days, I have a special appreciation for teachers.   I especially want to thank the teachers here at Blackhawk.   I thought again of other schools where teachers make more money and only consider teaching as a job.  For our teachers at Blackhawk, teaching is more than a job– it’s a life.   They sacrifice a lot of time and money because they love us and have a special interest in each of us.

I respect my teachers because I know that they are strong Christians, and what they teach me is the truth.  My parents taught me how to learn, but my teachers have taught me what to learn.  Thank you, teachers, for giving your time and for showing special interest in each of us.

As I have gone through school I have been interested in learning and doing my best.  As I get older I have more interest in doing the right thing and making wise choices.   The search for wisdom has led me to consider Proverbs and Ecclesiastes as two of my favorite books of the Bible.

After reading through Ecclesiastes, one finds what the purpose of life is– to “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”  The point of Ecclesiastes is that without living life in light of God’s holy judgement, then life is futile.   When we fear God and obey Him, then we don’t have to worry about life’s vanities, we can enjoy doing what is good.  Solomon tells us that the best thing we can do is to enjoy what God has given us– eating, drinking, and working to accomplish good.

Now that we know what to do, we need a means to accomplish that end– we need wisdom.  Proverbs was written to give wisdom to those who will listen.   In Proverbs we are urged, even as young children, to seek after wisdom.  There is an important relationship between gaining wisdom and obeying God’s commands.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and searching for wisdom leads to an understanding of the fear of the Lord.

Therefore, I encourage you to search the Bible so that you can understand what God wants you to do.   Find out what is the best thing you can do, and do it.  The prudent man will be blessed.  To be prudent is to be cautious–don’t allow yourself to make choices that will lead you the wrong direction.   I leave you with this quote from Proverbs 4:7, “Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom.  Though it costs all you have, get understanding.

Thank you.