In July of 2018, President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

The nomination is significant to the future of our country considering the judges who sit on the Supreme Court will be making and amending laws for decades to come, long after Donald Trump is no longer the President of the United States.

I am confident any individual who is offered the chance to serve on the Supreme Court views such a nomination as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

While President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacant spot on the Supreme Court, ultimately the final vote is left to Congress.

In the weeks leading up to the vote determining whether Kavanaugh will join the Supreme Court, several women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to when Kavanaugh was in high school.

Kavanaugh has denied all allegations, claiming he wasn’t even present at the high school parties where the assaults allegedly took place.

While the hearings have become somewhat of a he-said, she-said scandal, God has the ultimate knowledge of what happened and what did not, and He will have the final say based on who is lying and who is telling the truth.

Kavanaugh did, however, admit that he would get drunk in high school and is ashamed for how he acted in his youth.

Based on just those facts alone, there are 3 leadership lessons young people can learn from Kavanaugh’s remorse over how he acted when he was a teenager:

1. What you do in your youth impacts your future.

Teens often feel as though they’re invincible. They feel as though they can make choices in their youth that won’t impact their future. If you go to parties and get drunk, people may question your overall character, make other accusations, or analyze other decisions you’ve made based on the lack of judgment you have demonstrated. Be above reproach with your words and actions.

1 Corinthians 10:31—[W]hether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 

2. Your friends impact your future.

Several of the testimonies against Kavanaugh have not just named Brett, but also his friends from high school.

Whether Kavanaugh and his friends are guilty as charged or not, the reality remains that your friends oftentimes determine the type of person you will become. You want to choose friends who encourage you to be godly, not encourage you to make choices that negatively affect your reputation. Be careful about picking your friends.

1 Corinthians 15:33—Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

3. How you live in the fishbowl impacts your future.

Understand what you do in public will always be public.

Be especially cautious with what you post on social media. Posts you make today may affect your ability to get a job, may prevent you from seizing opportunities you otherwise would have had, or throttle your dreams and ambitions in a way you cannot currently foresee.

Whether you believe Brett Kavanaugh should be the next judge to serve on the Supreme Court or not, the bottom line is that decisions you make today can significantly impact opportunities you may have down the road.

Ephesians 5:15—Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…