Care Conversations 3 | We Need to be Secured to Discipline with Love
Let me reflect a little more on the horrendous start to my teaching career and my woeful understanding and practice of discipline.
As I mentioned last week, when God called me to Christian faith, I began to see how discipline, love and grace worked together. But something else was life-changing for me – seeing my absolute security in the Fatherhood of God.
Being a parent and/or a teacher is fundamentally representing the Fatherhood of God to our children. Our confidence does not come from knowing the right techniques and succeeding in implementing them, but in knowing that God is our Father and trusting in His love, kindness and enabling grace.
Here’s the thing – if we do not know of our security in God, we will have to find our security somewhere else. How was I trying to do this? Firstly, I wanted my students to like me – my subliminal intention was that I would find my security in the love and appreciation that I received from the children in my classes. A futile expectation fraught with problems.
My second approach was to find my security in my ability to control my classes by an authoritarian approach – again another futile expectation equally fraught with problems.
My identity, my security, my peace, and my joy can only be found in Him! This “released” me to relate warmly and firmly with the young people in my care. Did this mean that I never experienced a problem with discipline ever again? Obviously not. But it relieved me from anxiety; from striving to find my identity and meaning in something other than a secure relationship with God. From that basis I was freed to explore all sorts of ways of doing good and providing a purposeful and meaningful classroom environment.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.[1]
Should we find our security in a totally covenant-committed God, or in our own efforts?
No contest!
Blessings,
Brian
[1] Philippians 4:4-7