I try to find value in all of my students. My classroom runs more like a business where I happen to be the CEO, but that doesn't mean I'm the one that chooses every show or choreographs every number. No-it's a team effort, and everyone on the team has value.
Last year, I had a student in constant trouble. He was a great kid: smart, quick, sense of humor, and loved harder than anyone. He got sucked into temptation, as most teens do, when his popularity rose because of some peer pressure he gave in to. The older kids challenging him became his number one influence; therefore, he stayed in constant trouble even at school. We would have talks where he called this problem an "addiction," and I knew he understood the severity of it; he just wasn't willing to do the hard thing of sacrificing the addiction and lifestyle he'd created for himself. Many of the other teachers wrote him off as a "bad kid." He wasn't. He was a good kid with a lot of demons. This particular day, he had a vape on him. He was bringing it to another kid that paid him for it. A teacher cornered him in the hall, and instead of asking him about the vape, he gave a similar lecture like the one Mr. Wormwood gave to Matilda in the book:
"I'M SMART; YOU'RE DUMB.
I'M BIG; YOU'RE LITTLE.
I'M RIGHT; YOU'RE WRONG.
AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT."
The student came to class distraught; I could see it on his face. I called him into my office to ask what was up. He was quiet. So I said, "Be honest with me. Do you have a vape on you?" He nodded. I told him I had to send him to the office because I cared enough about him kicking this addiction, that the consequences would be worth it. He understood and even thanked me. He started heading for the door, but then he turned around to come back to my office. He asked with the most serious tone, "Brad, why do so many adults talk at us and not to us. Don't they know if they showed us respect, we'd be more willing to give them respect?"
Everyone loves the idea of being a leader. The perks are awesome: the authority, the respect, the power, the view from your office, etc. There is so much more to being a leader than the perks. First off, most leaders are hated by all. They hear complaints constantly. They are often stressed because they are the "problem solvers," yet many of us are called to a life of leadership.
I heard a fantastic quote on a podcast recently. "We can't be in authority if we never learn to submit to authority. And if we don't ever learn to submit to authority, we won't ever learn to submit to God."
I studied Abraham this afternoon, specifically in Genesis 18. To summarize, Abraham was taking a break from the heat when he noticed three men that were clearly sent by God Himself. Abraham didn't let a second pass. On his next breath, he was serving them. His reached out to his wife encouraging her to serve them by sacrificing the finest ingredients to make the best bread. He reached out to his servant to serve the men by fetching and preparing the most tender calf for them. His acts of service and submissiveness were contagious. Abraham was a leader worth submitting to because he knew how to, first, submit to authority.
Earlier in Abraham's timeline, we see the opposite of submit: RESIST. Sarai's timeline of having children didn't match God's. She took power into her own hands and tried to control the situation on her own. (Side note: Anytime you take control over something that isn't yours to take control over, there are stressful consequences.) She convinced Abraham to sleep with her servant, Hagar, in order to conceive him a child. Hagar resented Sarai, her master, and ran away. Listen to what God tells Hagar in Genesis 16:9, "Go back to your master and submit to her." Even when the authoritative order isn't ideal, we are to submit. God assures us, as He did Hagar, that He sees us and hears us. He promises to protect and bless us as He protected and blessed her.
Think about the qualities of the best teacher or boss you ever had. What made it easy to submit to them? Peace is found in authority. Abraham's best quality was obedience. That obedience was a result of His submissive faith.
Wives submit to your husbands FOR PEACE (Ephesians 5:22)
Submit to God and Satan will flee from you FOR PEACE (James 4:7)
Submit to your leaders and have confidence in them FOR PEACE (Hebrews 13:17)
Submit to God for prosperity AND PEACE (Job 22:21)
Let's be honest, none of us deserve respect. We've all sinned and fallen short of God's glory on multiple occasions today, alone. But if giving respect will help produce fruit for the Kingdom, allow us to submit to His authority, and guide us to be better leaders, shouldn't that be where we find our peace?
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