After High School, What’s Next?

Many high school students do not think about what their lives will be like once they have completed their high school career. Even if you are a few years away from finishing high school, it is important to start planning what you are going to do with your life after graduation.

Some insist that a college education is necessary in order for one to be a success. Such people tend to be highly focused and feel that college is a natural progression after high school. They would not dream of entering the workforce without a degree. Some students wander aimlessly through high school with little or no focus. They put little thought into what they are going to do after high school, and ultimately with their lives!

The question should not be whether or not to go to college, but rather how you are going to educate yourself for the rest of your life. Man has many ideas about what is the proper form of life education, but what does the Bible say?

It Starts with Vision

It is important to plan now for the future. Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” This is one of the vital keys. This proverb aligns with the first law of success—setting the right goal. It takes vision to set goals—to be able to see where you want to be in the future, and having a game plan to get there.

Many people view their college education as a process they put themselves through to be more marketable in the workplace. They attend school merely to earn a piece of paper (a degree or diploma) so that an employer will hire them. Although achieving a good job is a desirable result of post-secondary education, it must not be the main goal. Herbert W. Armstrong often explained that the purpose of Ambassador College was to teach students how to live, not just how to make a living. While it is no longer possible to attend Ambassador College, you can set your mind to have the same goal!

But what does it mean, in a practical sense, to use your education to learn how to live? How can you apply this principle in your life? As one striving to live God’s way of life, the goal of your Christian education is to learn how to live in a way that will lead to a degree of physical success, but more importantly to spiritual success. However, God determined that we spend time in the flesh, and therefore He expects us to educate ourselves so that we can earn a living.

Seek God’s Will

It is a good thing to go to college or continue your education through another means, such as an apprenticeship. However, it must not be done on your terms. This time of change in your life must not be used as a chance to break away and “find yourself.” Earnestly pray to God about the direction of your life. His Word is a lamp to your feet (Psalm 119:105)—if you study to learn God’s will, the Bible will show the direction that is best for you. Of course, such a decision requires matching your personal tastes to different disciplines.

What interests do you have? What subjects do you excel in? What subjects are you naturally inclined to study? What types of jobs seem to interest you? The answers to these questions will help you determine what discipline is best suited for you. We all have different tastes; although we are all basing our life choices on the same Source, we will not all choose the same specific path. However, you must be sure your choice is within the scope of what God says is acceptable.

The All-Important Law of Success

This leads to the seventh law of success—contact with, guidance from, and continuous help from God. In order to obtain your goal, it is important to consider the effectiveness of the means you are using to get there. You can be assured that God approves of the choices you make if it aligns with His will.

Colossians 3:2-3 states, “Set your affections on the things above, not on the things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Is this your attitude? If so, Matthew 6:33 promises that God will provide all of your needs.

The Wrong Foundation

In I Corinthians 3, the apostle Paul writes, “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (vs. 18-19).

If you want to go to college to obtain this world’s knowledge, then, according to God, you must carefully re-evaluate your goals. Those of higher education have rejected God and seek to explain the world around us using a faulty foundation.

Depending on the discipline you choose, you may find yourself in direct conflict with God’s will. For example, what is the point of pursuing a career in psychology if you know that this entire field lacks the basic understanding of the spirit in man (I Cor. 2:11, 14)? It is important to consider how God will view the discipline you choose.

Choosing the Right Location

If you are planning on going to college, you should put careful thought into your living arrangements. Not everyone lives close enough to a college to be able to live at home, so living on campus may be unavoidable. However, God’s youth should not be living in co-ed dormitories. I Thessalonians 5:22 states, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” Certainly, living in a building for an extended period of time with people of the opposite sex does not set the example of how God expects young people to live.

Of course, living at home is a great option when it is available. If there is a suitable college in your town, then carefully ask yourself why you are considering moving away. Do you want to go “find yourself”? Consider what Jesus Christ said: “He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it” (Matt. 10:39). Christ is willing to give you a great reward if, for His sake, you are willing to lay aside any desire to “find yourself” in this world of confusion, greed and self-will.

Prepare Yourself for College Life

When you arrive at college, you will find that there are many pressures to compromise with what you believe. This will be especially true if you are living on campus. You will be in contact with many people who do not know God’s way of life. They are living away from home for the first time in their lives, and experience shows that many tend to go overboard and party all day and night. Even those who do not go to this extreme may try to pressure you into participating in activities that go against what the Church and God’s Word teach.

It can be extremely difficult to fight these pressures. You will be tempted to go along with the crowd—perhaps just once—to see what it is like. Set your mind to never let this happen!

It has often been said that those in God’s Church are the only Bible that many will ever read. Set out to be an example to those around you. Rather than partying, spend extra time studying. Don’t keep your beliefs hidden to those who ask. Yet, at the same time, don’t “preach” to others about what you believe is right and wrong. If you “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16), then your example may even lead someone to God’s truth.

However, if you compromise on your beliefs—even once—you risk losing the respect of anyone who notices something “peculiar” about the way you live your life.

The apostle Peter wrote, “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings [partying], and abominable idolatries. Wherein they think it strange that you run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you” (I Pet. 4:3-4).

Some will think that you are strange if you don’t have the same focus as they do. Just take this in stride, and know that you have set firmly in your mind to be the example that this world desperately needs!

Put Your Knowledge to Use

As a young person whom God desires to work with and guide, you have access to knowledge that allows you to formulate a vision that your peers in the world cannot. Use this knowledge in a way that is pleasing and acceptable to God and determine to succeed at all costs.

For more information on setting the right goals, study the booklet The Laws to Success.