Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 4
The speaker calls college “not the end, it’s the means to the end”; in your experience, what “ends” commonly replace God’s ends (status, comfort, “a good job”), and how does that reveal what we actually believe God promises?
Another way to ask: If college is only a tool and not the goal, what goals often take God’s place (like status, comfort, or a good job)? What do those goals show about what we really think God will give us?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
In the transcript, the main “replacement ends” are treating college as the destination itself or as a path to “a good job,” rather than as preparation to serve Christ and meet real needs. This reveals a practical belief that security, escape from hardship, or career success will deliver what we want, instead of trusting God’s purposes in service.
- He states his ideal plainly: “college isn’t the end… It’s not the end, it’s the means to the end.”
- He critiques the mindset of seeing it as “a necessary evil” rather than recognizing its “value.”
- He specifically names a wrong end: seeing college as “just a way to get a good job.”
- He admits his own early end was escape: “I don’t like my job… I don’t like my life… a way of pushing through… pain.”
- He contrasts that with a better end: education as “a way of serving,” “helping my church to grow,” and learning to “lead my family.”