Not long ago, TGC Africa published an insightful piece titled 10 Mistakes I Made as a Theological Student. What follows is a similar reflection, but from the perspective of someone who studied the humanities (English and French), and then law. Some lessons overlap with the earlier article, yet I hope these reflections will encourage students in various fields to glorify Christ in their studies and not stumble where I did.
1. Poor Time Management
I often left assignments to the last minute, convincing myself I ‘worked better under pressure.’ While law was demanding, I worsened matters by procrastinating. I let readings pile up, pulled desperate all-nighters before essays were due, and scrambled through case law I should have reviewed weeks earlier.
We can’t control our circumstances, but we can steward our time.
If I could do it again, I would treat time as a gift from God, planning ahead and working steadily rather than frantically. Proverbs 21:5 reminds us that “the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance.” Though we cannot control every circumstance, we can choose to steward time wisely for God’s glory.
2. Neglecting Spiritual Disciplines
When exams loomed, prayer and Bible reading were the first things to go. I told myself, “God understands, I’ll catch up later.” But later rarely came. Looking back, I wish I had kept my Bible open even during the busiest days. And in connection to poor time management, better systems and time management would have allowed me to guard prayer and devotion.
3. Measuring Myself by Grades
Law school is competitive and rigorous. Too often, my joy rose or fell with exam results and lecturers’ comments. I still remember tears welling up in my eyes when I got back a script and saw that I had failed. My identity was tied to my academic performance instead of Christ. I should have anchored myself in the truth that my worth does not come from marks but from being loved by God in Christ. Grades matter, but they do not determine our worth. This is a mistake that’s difficult to avoid for students.
4. Spreading Myself Too Thin
I said yes to everything from the Writer’s Workshop to La Société Française (French Society), field hockey every week and mid-week service. So by the end of the week, I was exhausted. I confused busyness with fruitfulness. What I should have done was embrace my God-given limits and remember that rest is never wasted; it is part of trusting God.
5. Avoiding Hard Conversations About Faith
I often stayed silent about my faith, afraid of sounding strange during debates and conversations. Looking back, I wish I had been bolder in sharing my perspectives and convictions as a Christian. I invited some friends to church and Bible study, but I wish had invited more. Christ calls us to be salt and light, even in academic spaces (Matthew 5:13-16; 1 Peter 3:15). Silence was easier, but honesty would have been more faithful.
6. Fearing Man More than God
Too often, I cared more about what classmates or lecturers thought than about God’s opinion. I even hid or softened my Christian convictions in conversations, fearing they would seem ‘too religious.’ Proverbs 29:25 warns that fearing man is a snare, and I fell into it often. I learnt to trust God’s approval above all else, because pleasing him is safer than pleasing people.
7. Separating Faith and Knowledge
I rarely paused to ask how biblical justice speaks to legal justice, or how the gospel speaks to literature’s search for meaning. I just wanted to pass. What I should have done was view every subject, idea, and theory as God’s since “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). If I had seen my studies as worship, they would have been richer and more meaningful.
8. Not Being Mission-Minded in My Friendships
I often kept a small circle of friends, which included my classmates, housemates, and Christian friends from church and the campus Bible study. I missed opportunities to meet people who did not know Christ and share life, conversations, and the gospel with them.
University is a mission field.
University is a mission field: thousands of young people, many searching for meaning, sitting in the same lecture halls and eating in the same cafeterias. If I could go back, I would be more intentional about building friendships beyond my comfort zone, with the goal of winning them to Jesus.
9. Forgetting Education is Stewardship
At times, I saw my degrees as personal achievements, trophies of my effort. But education is not mine to hoard; it is God’s gift to steward for the good of others. 1 Corinthians 4:7 asks, “What do you have that you did not receive?” If I could relive my studies, I would think less about how they advance me and more about how they serve Christ’s kingdom.
10. Neglecting Stewardship of My Body
I didn’t care well for the body God gave me, skipped meals, and I often had poor sleeping habits—especially during high-pressure seasons. And even though I played field hockey, I lacked consistency in exercise and healthy routines. The result was fatigue that affected my studies and my ability to serve others well. If I could redo those years, I would honour God by stewarding my body better so that I could do all I did with greater energy and faithfulness (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:10).
Students, Don’t Make the Same Mistakes I Did
By God’s grace, none of the mistakes I made when I was a student were the end of the story. Mistakes are part of life. But they don’t define us. We should not let them. Christ met me in my weakness, forgave me, and continues to teach me.
Your academic qualification is temporary, but your soul is eternal.
If you are in university now, don’t repeat my errors. Learn from them. Remember that your academic qualification is temporary, but your soul is eternal. Pursue Christ above all else because only He can make your learning, your career, and your life truly meaningful.
