This is a follow up to last night. After our study of the Sermon On The Mount, my juniors took a one period detour and looked at love from 1st Corinthians 13. So much of the Sermon On The Mount deals with the motives for our actions; Paul addresses the same issue at the beginning of his beautiful treatise:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (verses 1-3)
As I do often, I had my students put similar thoughts in their own vernacular, framing them with their own points of references. As they always do, they displayed a fascinating-and sometimes startling mature- grasp of life. As examples, I read samples from my students nine years ago. Those now twenty-five year olds did such a good job, I thought I would show them again. Boys are in blue, girls are in pink, and all were used by example.
"If I turn in the work for all my classes but I did not do the assignments myself, I would be better off not even turning it in." Syundai
"If I help tutor kids but only for the pay, I should do something else to make money." Kirstie
"If I see someone getting bullied and start to help but then blame the person being bullied for my injuries, I should have left it alone." Skye
"If I donate all my shoes to kids in El Salvador but do it with disgust, I should have just kept the shoes." Roxanna
"If I love to cheer but hate the cheerleading squad, I might as well not try out." Kristi
"If I marry someone just to spite someone else, I should have stayed single." Sam
"If I say, 'I love you' to a girl and then walk out when she needs me the most, that's not love." Adam
"If I go to school but do it just because my parents force me, I should just stay home and get a job." Jarrick
"If I go on a mission trip but avoid the people in that country because I'm hanging out with my friends, I should have just gone to the beach back home." Rebecca
"If I swim in the big meet but do not have good lane manners, I might as well play football." Laney
"If I loan money to a person but hate him in my heart, I would be better off keeping the money." Annie
"If I help my aunt do the housework but complain about it in front of my friends, I should move out of the house and live alone." Patti
"If I help teach about the Bible in VBS but don't care if the children learn, I have not love." Luke
"If I study for a test just to get a reward from my parents and not for what it gains for me and my future, I might as well not try." Emily W.
"If I gain knowledge of the Bible but never teach it to anyone, it's of no use." Brittany
"If I help out at the hospital, not to help the sick but in hopes of meeting a cute doctor, I should have just stayed home." Chelsey
And their teacher said, "AMEN."
Applicable quote of the day:
"Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world."
Wayne Dyer
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
No comments:
Post a Comment