TEACHING FOR HIM

Prayer: Please help us today, Lord, to remember we are working for You above all.

Scripture: For He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

A collective shudder went around the entire school as word spread like wild fire that the Thompsons had come to school! The way the doors slammed, you would have thought the school was being invaded by aliens instead of difficult parents. The school went into a veritable lock-down. The purpose of their visit was to select a classroom teacher for their son entering sixth grade.

I knew I’d be chosen to teach that boy. I just knew it. Yet when I was summoned to come into the corridor to meet the obviously very educated parents, anger mixed with fear. Why me? I moaned. The boy’s father was pompous, hostile toward Christians, and gave a new meaning to the word argumentative. Involved in over fifty law suits and known to disrupt school board meetings, they now wanted me to teach their son whom they considered to be a near genius. After observing my teaching style and interactions with my students, I was chosen “It”

I left the school that day in great heaviness of spirit, and sleep did not come easy that night. Very early the next morning as I was pouring out my complaint to the Lord, I distinctly heard God ask me, “Will you teach this boy for me?” That settled it then. I would teach the student for Him. During the course of days and weeks, I discovered the student was a rather ordinary, very average boy who did well in some subjects and not so well in others. I liked him, though, and unknown to him, sympathized with him over the fact that his parents were difficult and angry. Their aspirations for their son far exceeded his ability.

Have you ever had to deal with parents like that? I call them parents of reputation. They’re pushy, insulting, and inspire fear. While you feel you could teach just about any student, you feel you don’t want to get entangled with a certain type of parent. It brings us back to these questions: why are we educators? What is our purpose? How are we to approach any given assignment? Certainly not with trepidation and fear!

We must remember that we are His representatives and His ambassadors in the workplace. We teach for Him.

Copyright by Clara Ruffin. E-mail: [email protected]