About What Do We Boast?
I love my grandchildren. I love talking about my grandchildren. It is not that I love my children less, nor my elderly mother, nor even my wife of over four decades. It is just that they are so – well, they are so grandchildren-like! They all look wonderful, they all give hugs, they all appreciate time with us.
They come and visit, and we play and have adventures and laughs together. We eat (somehow it seems that their grandmother always knows what their ‘favourites’ are). We read, we talk and then, wonder of wonders, they go home to their loving parents!
Is it wrong to tell lots of stories about my grandchildren? I know that it is not good when the people who are listening get bored – but is it boasting?
What about with my students? What do I like saying about them? Does it matter if they achieve above the state averages? Does it matter if I have no serious discipline issues? What about if all the students I teach end up in youth groups? Isn’t that worth talking about?
I think the answer to these questions is ‘yes’ – it is good to talk about these things.
HOWEVER – there is a line about which we need to be aware. It is a line that starts in our hearts, and is then projected out onto the rest of the world. The line is whether or not we celebrate the opportunities God has given us in being involved in these situations. Are my cute grandchildren all my doing? Are the results I achieve in teaching all because of me?
The answer to these questions may seem obvious – it is not all about us. But the subtle temptation to claim good outcomes as being from what we have done is strong. The opposite temptation is to blame all of our failings on others. Both temptations come from a self-frame of reference – that is, we decide what is good or not from our point of view.
The Apostle Paul saw the impact of such thinking in the Christian church. He knew that people tried to construct their own frameworks of success and effort, and then judged others by that framework. His response was clear:
Galatians 14-16 For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! (The Message)
Similarly, we can have in our profession of teaching, lots of ‘little patterns’ to which we must adhere if we are to be considered successful. Of course, many of those patterns are present to help avoid the chaos that would ensue if we did not have routines that help us keep order as a community. But Paul’s next statement is the hub of the matter: “It is what God is doing” that counts.
Paul believes this so strongly, that he describes such a heart state as being evidence of being truly God’s people!
So – it is good to celebrate worthy outcomes, like happy grandchildren and classes that do well. But – do we celebrate these events with thankfulness to God for this opportunity to serve in these contexts, using the gifts He has given us, in the strength that He provides? Or is it about ‘me’?
How can we routinely celebrate worthy outcomes in our classes and school in a way that explicitly thanks God for this good?
Blessings,
Stephen Fyson