Oscar-winner Denzel Washington told graduates at Dillard University in New Orleans they need to “put God first” just like he has done in his own life because he knows that everything in his life has come through the grace of God.

Washington’s eleven minute speech often focused on faith.

He said that his wake up call to the way God has blessed him came through his mother.  He said that he had been talking to his mother about how big he had become in the entertainment world when he mother stopped him dead in his tracks.

“She said, ‘Boy, stop it right there,’” he recalled. “If you only knew how many people have been praying for you.”

He said that he was flunking college with a 1.7 grade point average when a woman in his mother’s beauty salon stood up and said that he would travel the world.   He said God was in control then as he is right now.

“Put God first,” he declared emphatically, evoking applause. “Everything you think you see in me, everything that I’ve accomplished, everything that you think I have—and I have a few things—everything I have is by the grace of God. Understand that. It’s a gift.”

He also remarked on the importance of not focusing on material things.

“You’ll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse,” he stated. “I don’t care how much money you make. You can’t take it with you.”

“I pray that you put your slippers way under the bed tonight, so that when you get up in the morning, and you have to get on your knees to reach them,” Washington said. “And while you’re down there, say thank you. Thank you for grace, thank you for mercy, thank you for understanding, thank you for wisdom, thank you for parents, thank you for love, thank you for kindness, thank you for humility, thank you for peace, thank you for prosperity. Say thank you in advance for what’s already yours.”