Congratulations! You are about to graduate high school or college! Graduations are gateways to greater freedom and responsibility. To slightly edit the famous words of Peter Parker’s (read: Spiderman) Uncle Ben, “With great freedom comes great responsibility.” For the Christian increased freedom comes with the increased responsibility to prioritize godliness and wisdom. Do this and you will find yourself faithful, content, and hopeful in this new phase of life. (Side note: observe how the world around you advertises how freedom and wisdom are found in anything but God and faithfulness to Him.)

So, in order to help you think through your immediate post-graduation surroundings, here are 16 biblical tips for you to consider. In no particular order (except the first three maybe):

Prioritize spiritual growth – 1 Timothy 4:6-8 – A lot of people in your next stage of life will seek to question and diffuse your Christian worldview and faith. Spiritual disciplines (faith exercises) results in godliness and wards you from giving into silly myths. Study your Bible, pray regularly, worship in all you do, serve others, and fast for spiritual gain.

Prioritize the church – Hebrews 10:25 – The church is your grounding force as you make your way through the next life stage. You need others provoking you to faith and good works. You need others investing in your holiness. You need others to serve and to be served by. You need the wisdom and instruction of others. You need the church.

Find someone to disciple you – 1 Corinthians 11:1 – You need someone wiser, older, grayer than you are to lead you into maturity. Someone who will show you tested faith, hope, and love. Someone who will lead you in Christlikeness. Find someone like this and then be faithful, available, and teachable for them.

Make repentance a habit – 1 Samuel 2:3 – The world will simultaneously overwhelm you and exalt you and you will give in. Doubt in God and pride in self reap sin. Repentance roots these up in your heart. Repentance acknowledges God’s power and His good ways. Repentance leans on God for help. Repentance changes life’s course.

Choose your inner circle wisely – 1 Kings 12:1-19 – Nothing can be more influential than your peers. College and career open you up to many new relationships. Choose wisely who you let into your life, and thus shape your desires and thoughts. Prudent choice of friends leads to faithfulness, faithfulness leads to prudent choice of friends.

Invest your resources wisely – 1 Timothy 6:17 – With more at your fingertips than ever before you may find yourself giving more of your time, energy, desire, money, and heart to new things. Wisely applying your resources is a way of worshiping God with what He has given you and a way of limiting the allure of worldly investments. Invest well.

Develop a love for reading – Ephesians 3:4 – Simply put: reading stirs the mind and shapes the heart. Spend time reading for spiritual growth, for work, and for leisure. When you read you develop your reading skillset and sweeten your study of Scripture. Another helpful development tool is listening to sermons.

Put the screens down – 2 Corinthians 4:4 – Satan is the Distractor. Your social media, apps, Netflix, video games can all be used to dilute the actual real majesty of God by presenting lesser glories. Put your screen down regularly. Wisely guard what you do intake. Engage in face-to-face fellowship. Enjoy God’s real glory.

Tell others what you believe – Matthew 28:16-20 – No time is better to tell others what you believe and why you believe it than now. I know our world is more antagonistic toward Christianity, but that is why the Great Commission comes with the Great Companion. Your faith will be built up and others will come to know God better.

Ask good questions, think through the responses – Acts 17:11 – God invites your deep inquiries. Every thought-through question proves His glory and proves other religions to be brittle. Consider great things – purpose of life, God’s sovereignty, eternity, the Trinity, hot-button issues, other religions’ claims, Bible’s inerrancy, the person of Christ, etc.

Record the times God’s faithfulness was on display – Exodus 12:24-28 – One of God’s regular commands is to remember His faithful acts. Doing so trains you to see God’s faithfulness more, thwarts doubt and sin, encourages your faithfulness, and helps you see the world rightly. Start a journal full of prayers, observations, and praises to God.

Don’t discard your family – Exodus 20:12 – Your family is a great anchor in your life. If your family has a history of faithfulness then they will encourage you toward maturity. If your family does not, then exercising love toward them from afar will be of great benefit. Call, text, write, FaceTime, email; whatever it takes to honor your family in love.

Start planning (far) ahead – Proverbs 21:5 – Extended adolescence, procrastination, and gap years are evidence of the world’s love for delayed responsibility. God calls us to be responsible now and to plan on being responsible in the future. Look at your calendar and plot your points of faithfulness for the next weeks, months, and years.

In everything trust the Lord – 2 Peter 1:3 – Convincing arguments of satisfaction outside of God and His design abound. Only God truly satisfies and provides. As you set your goals (family, career, leisure, etc) set your heart on finding satisfaction in the Lord, regularly praying about it and asking for wisdom. 

Don’t act like a child – 1 Corinthians 13:11 – Give up on childish desires and responses. Life goes a lot better for the mature than the immature. A key sign of childishness is grumbling, another is self-centeredness. A key sign of maturity is gratitude, another is others-centeredness. Which is more like you?

Replace boredom with diligence – Proverbs 12:27 – Faithful diligence is a blessing. You work hard to glorify God in all things and build others up toward God. It also limits Satan’s access to your mind and heart, defending you from sins usually provoked by idle hands and minds. Be vigilant, rest responsibility, and don’t give into laziness. 

I hope these tips are usefully for you as you move on to the next phase of life!