Adversity score ∙∙
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. – Hebrews 12:1
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Don’t you realize that in a race, everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!
25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.
How significantly do hardship and adversity influence outcomes? What are some practical strategies for coping with adversity?
In May 2019, the College Board introduced a new factor for college admissions: the “Overall Disadvantage Level” or “Adversity Score” of students.
What is the SAT Adversity Score?
The SAT Adversity Score is a metric the College Board calculates to assess the level of disadvantages a student has encountered. This score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 indicating the least hardship and 0 representing the highest degree of adversity.
The rationale behind this score is that substantial differences in SAT scores among test-takers are not solely due to their abilities, knowledge, or intelligence. Instead, these scores are also influenced by each student’s advantages or disadvantages.
The goal is to create a more equitable evaluation process by incorporating the Adversity Score alongside SAT scores. For students who have grown up under challenging conditions, lower SAT scores might reflect these adversities rather than a lack of proficiency, aptitude, or problem-solving skills. Therefore, students who have overcome significant hardships should receive fair consideration in college admissions.
What are valid predictors of academic ability?
There are several, with leadership, character, and persistence topping the list. Interestingly, the academic success of Asian students appears less affected by their Adversity Scores or family economic status. Instead, their strong emphasis on scholarly effort and self-discipline is crucial to their achievements. On average, Asian students outperform white students on the SAT by 100 points and black students by 277 points.
In The Republic, Plato discusses the “Noble Lie.” This myth is told to the masses to maintain social stability and contentment with their societal roles.
The Noble Lie suggests that all children are equal, but Greek rulers believed some children were gold, others silver and iron. These metals determine a person’s station in life.
Ultimately, the Noble Lie is a deliberate falsehood perpetuated by the privileged elite to preserve social order and advance their agendas.
REFLECT & PRAY
What is the entrance requirement for heaven? There is only one: the blood of Christ. Adversity Scores do not play a role! It is objective and final.
Father, it is so easy to judge people and think less or more of them based on some arbitrary standard. Help me to remember that everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard (Romans 3:23).
INSIGHT
There is a vast difference in age and experience between a potential college student, a teenager, and a fully grown man in his 30s. Reflecting on the adversities faced by the Lord Jesus Christ and how He overcame them can be profoundly instructive. What disadvantages did He confront, and how did He respond?
During His time on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ endured significant adversity and lived a life of faith. He was born into humble circumstances and grew up in a working-class family, and His early years were shadowed by questions surrounding the legitimacy of His birth. Throughout His life, Jesus experienced rejection, betrayal, mockery, physical abuse, and, ultimately, crucifixion. These were not imagined hardships but very real and profound adversities.
If one were to calculate an Adversity Score for the Lord Jesus Christ, what would it be?
Isaiah 52:14 But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
Isaiah 53:2-10
2 My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected– a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
10 But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated remarkable resilience and unwavering dedication in carrying out the will and purpose of the Father. His steadfast persistence and absolute commitment serve as an exemplary model for all of us to emulate and follow. “Outlook determines outcome, and attitude determines action” (Wiersbe).
Hebrews 12:1-3
1 Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
“Perhaps you have seen the bumper sticker that reads: “When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade!” It is easier to smile at that statement than to practice it, but the basic philosophy is sound. In fact, it is biblical. Throughout the Bible are people who turned defeat into victory and trial into triumph. Instead of being victims, they became victors. . .. Or, to put it another way, there are four essentials for victory in trials: a joyful attitude, an understanding mind, a surrendered will, and a heart that wants to believe” (Wiersbe).
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© Dr. H 2024
Dr H Reflections 