We are grateful to God for all the blessings He continues to shower upon New St. Andrews College. This evening is our convocation for 2006/07, and so we would like to ask you to rejoice with us as we welcome 60 new in-coming freshman. We are really looking forward to this next school year.
Another recent blessing for us was the inclusion of NSA in a publication put out by ISI on the top 50 colleges in America for “conservatives, old fashioned liberals, and people of faith.” This really was quite an honor; we are very grateful to God, and of course grateful to the very kind folks at ISI. They are doing good work, some of which can be seen here. Here is the publication cover.
.jpg)
At the same time, having said all this, according to Scripture, receiving honor remains a dicey business. “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:44). This is a caution more about the motives of the recipient, and not about the motives of those who like ISI render honor — which Scripture requires from all of us. It is important for us (as recipients) always to remember that true accreditation comes ultimately from God, and we must always strive to care what He thinks, regardless of what others might be saying. This is just another way of saying that there is one kind of honor that comes to those who are anxious to climb the greasy pole of ambition. Another kind comes to those who are willing to do the right thing whether they receive any honor for it or not. A corollary to this is doing the right thing even if it results in slander and mispresentation.
In short, a certain kind of honor can only be received by people who don’t care whether they receive a certain kind of dishonor. NSA has received this recognition from ISI in large part because we have not trimmed our sails in order to please our local critics. That is not what we are here for.