May 14, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Find out what pleases the Lord. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.” (Ephesians 5.10; Ephesians 6.7-8)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

I remember a young man who was in one of my Communication Application classes. His was a tragic story which makes the remembrance all the more poignant. During one of our “speech” exercises as we rehearsed “how to speak,” he made an announcement. We have all heard such announcement from our children. We probably have made similar protestations ourselves even recently. It sounds something like this: “This is stupid, why do I have to do this when there are other more important things to do.” It usually ends in some battle of wills between “do and won’t.” When this particular student sounded off during the exercise, I have no doubt there were certain silent allies cheering him on. What they wanted was never to have to do such exercises ever again. You know the sound and feel of that question, don’t you. You may have said it in Algebra class when factoring was the lesson of the day, week and semester; or so it seemed. Or maybe you said it in English class when memorizing poetry of some obscure and non-contemporary author was being required. Or maybe you said it in P.E. class when you preferred to sit the bleachers into of doing push-ups and laps as the “coach” required. Regardless of which course or what task it may have been or in recent days is, there is that human complaint. I can’t and won’t even try to mitigate its angst with the excuse of our “brokenness” in sin. God has factored into our creation the desire for that something “other.” What God hopes is that we will chose Him as that “other” we would rather be and do knowing all the while there are “other” options.

Those options seem more viable, self-soothing, accommodating and promotional to the point of defining what “freedom” really means. The pursuit of those options often led and still lead to their own kind of enslavement of the body, mind and soul. There is no freeing sense in them except the escape from something we would rather not be doing in the moment. I knew this young man’s “option.” He had been in and out of juvenile detention. Being in a foster home would have been a better option that the home where he lived nearly invisible to those who parented him. His lament sounded like this: “I don’t need this class. I already have a job that supports me just fine.” You could hear the non-verbal “whoa” from the rest of the class as their eyes ping-ponged back and forth between me and him. Then he completed his declaration of freedom with “I’m sixteen [and in the ninth grade still, mind you] and I am dropping out of school.” There were a few beats of silence as he and the rest of the class waited for the other shoe to drop. I responded matter-of-factly pressing down the sorrow I was feeling for him and his hard life. There were others in the class who may have been walking a similar path but from a different direction. My words rang straight and true, “I know what you are talking about. I know what you do. I see you doing it every morning before school on the corner across the street.” Deadly silence ensued, then I continued. “Here’s the deal. If you stay in school and in this class, I will make you better at what you are doing so that you will live longer and be happier.” Almost in unison the class erupted, “Mr. Long, he’s a drug dealer. You are going to help him be a better drug dealer?”

I leaned against my desk half-sitting with my arms crossed to show that I was determined not to be influenced by their surprise. “Yes, that is exactly what I said and what I meant. The way he is doing his business now will certainly lead to failure and it may cost him his life. I want him to be able to communicate better and order his thoughts in such a way so as to protect himself and others from what most certainly will cost them their lives.” Oh, you could have heard a pin drop. They knew I was “dead” serious about what I said. They knew it meant I was also serious about what I was trying to teach them in that communications class. It wasn’t just about public speaking. It was about being successful in life and free from the penalty of bad decisions. I never promised bad decisions wouldn’t be made. I suggested there were better ways to move past bad decisions other than making more bad decisions. Effective communication was the answer. We all looked at the student who had made himself the unintentional center of attention. In the moment, he said “I will try it your way and stay in class.” I knew it was more than school that was weighing him down. I hoped that somehow this collective of students in that class period would rise to the challenge if for no other reason than to see how I was going to make him a “better drug dealer.” I had no such intention. I did intend to serve wholeheartedly the God who knew this young man’s heart better than any of us including the student himself.

He stayed for two weeks. I can honestly say he tried to do what was required in the class. He never balked about assignments. He did his work. Yet, there was a shadow that lurked behind him. Inside the class, he had the support of each one of us. Sadly, there was “no money in it.” He couldn’t grasp the concept of investing in his future beyond the moment. He dropped out. He got arrested dealing drugs. He was sent to juvenile incarceration and not merely detention as a repeat offender. Before the end of the term, news came back to us: he had been killed. His mouth got him in trouble. His ego couldn’t cash the checks his mouth was writing. He made a bad decision when a good one was right there for the taking. There was no coming back. Needless to say, there was nothing said in class that day. The weight of his death pushed all our heads to our desks. The bell rang. Students went on to their next class and I had to find a way to lead my next class with a stronger sense of determination. It wasn’t about me being a successful teacher for myself. It was about being a successful communicator for them. My purpose never changed but my intentionality was more resolved.

The next day I had other students meet me in the hallway or in passing from the main building where I taught Theatre Class to the 9th grade building where I taught Communications Application. They were not students in my class but each had a story to tell and one single desire: I don’t want to die! They each wanted to know how to communicate better with their parents, their siblings, their friends and even those who set themselves up as their enemies. The message of one lost life became a rallying point for a desire to live beyond the moment; their moment. As I reread the scripture posted for yesterday from Ephesians 6.7-8, I don’t even have to remind myself of how important it is to be a slave to the right thing, the right person for the right reason. It isn’t even about worldly or earthly rewards. It is about finding out what pleases God so much that I just want to do it all the time. I won’t do it perfectly, but I can communicate it effectively with God. Serving Him and listening to the lesson He wants to teach may well serve others and help them to see a better way. Why? Because in the long run, we don’t really want to die the kind of death from which there is no escape. We want to live. We don’t want to be a slave to sin. We want to live authentically with integrity with the kind of love that God has proven works.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.