Mentor Paper

In my life there have been many mentor figures. I grew up in an all Christian household with many people looking out for me. I had a great relationship with my parents, brothers and brothers of Christ in my small group. Whatever I needed I had constant support from family and friends. Out of all these people growing up, my mentor was my brother Ben.

Ben attended Wheaton and graduated in 2013. I always looked up to him and his dedication and love for Jesus and other areas of life. Also his endless hard work makes me look up to him. He is constantly growing spiritually and in other areas of life.  Ben and I have many similarities. We went to the same high school and college. We played the same sports in high school, follow professional sports closely, and went to the same church growing up. He played golf at Wheaton and I do too. We would usually talk about what we are doing and how we are doing. It could be normal conversation like “What’s up for today”? or discuss what we have been struggling with at the time. I can tell my brother anything and I know I would be safe without any judgement. He lives in downtown Chicago now and usually once a week I either visit or talk to him on the phone. It’s always nice to meet with him and talk to him.

Ben dedicates every morning to reading the Bible. You would think that since we go to a Christian school that most people read the Bible every morning. Think again. We took a poll in my Old Testament class and the question was “How many of you read the Bible every day?”  and about thirty percent raised their hands. That was a shock to me. Even in a Christian environment we still fail to take ten minutes and read the Word. I know what my brother is doing every morning at 5am.  

Another reason he is a great mentor is that he knows when to push me. He knows when I’m being lazy and not giving it my all. When he sees that he lets me know and gives me constructive criticism. Constructive criticism is a very important thing in order to improve in any area of life. He isn’t harsh, but he lets me know too. He keeps me on the straight and narrow path.