“Only the Lord can change the future.”
Thus said former Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno before the high school student body of MGC New Life Christian Academy last January 13, 2021 via Zoom. As she shared her experiences in being a Christian politician in her talk entitled RIP: AFK & DC’D, Sereno signified how being Away From Knowledge (AFK) could lead to getting Disconnected (DC’D).
Sereno admitted that her Christian faith was what helped her deal with the trials that she went through during her last few tumultuous months as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Ephesians 2:10, which says “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” was especially valuable, she says. She also explained the importance of choosing to walk with God in all that we do, as He will be the one to guide us in making proper decisions throughout our lives.
As the first female and youngest chief justice of the Supreme Court, Sereno gave credit and glory to God for all her achievements in government. But despite having the power and position, she emphasized that being humble is necessary because the temptation of fulfilling selfish desires and abusing power could very easily go to one’s head if one is not careful.
To conclude, the former Chief Justice encouraged the students to “Be part of the new generation. Be young leaders whose hearts are after God’s own heart. Be the generation that will be the soldiers of Christ as He redeems this land!” She said that everyone must contribute to society by being knowledgeable about what’s happening around us and educating ourselves with godly values. Sereno also stressed the importance of exercising one’s right to vote because our votes determine the next person who will lead our country, ultimately determining whether our country will progress or not.
Sereno ended her talk with this reminder to the students. “We are the future and chance for a change that will create a beautiful ripple throughout generations; therefore, we must try our best to contribute to our society, even if we, as some of us claim, are merely students.“
The event was organized by Senior High HUMSS students, as part of the requirements of their subjects Philippine Politics and Governance, and Trends, Network, Critical Thinking in the 21st Century.
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