Out Of Context

I was in our hallway last Wednesday when one of my fellow teachers stopped me. The faculty member was upset and asked, "Is Mrs. Ballard leaving?" I reacted with predictable shock. Kaitlyn Ballard is our WCS guidance counselor and practically indispensable. In three years, she has had a huge impact on our school. Our students and faculty and staff are always wanting/needing to talk to her. She is a terrific listener who combines a good ear with empathy and wisdom. Plus, Kaitlyn and her husband have about the cutest little boy you have ever seen. Losing her would be a big blow to our academics as well as to the kids who need a shoulder to cry on. I hope you get the picture of her importance to Westbury Christian. It's just a snapshot.

Back to my colleague and our conversation. I asked, 
"No! Where did you get that idea?" 
The answer caught me off guard:
"From you!"
"What do you mean from me?"
"Well, I was in the office last week and I heard you tell her, 'We'll always have a place for you!' "
That's where I stifled a laugh. What my fellow teacher said I said was totally true and the words she quoted from me were absolutely accurate. But here I need to throw in a bit more background material. Three years ago, Kaitlyn was my assistant coach for our middle school girls' basketball team. She was terrific, having been an excellent high school player with a keen mind for the game. Pregnancy and the resulting motherhood necessitated her giving up her coaching gig which, incidentally, was free of charge. What my co-worker heard in the office was me teasing Kaitlyn about coming out of coaching retirement as I often do. It's a back and forth conversation we have but to someone without that knowledge, it would have sounded much different. So, to officially clear up the confusion, Kaitlyn Ballard is not leaving WCS, at least not in the immediate future.

I should mention here that I wrote this after securing the permission of both of the above mentioned parties who both thought it was funny, although Kaitlyn does not know the identity of the other teacher. Truthfully, I do the same thing all the time. I hear something correctly but I miss what led up to it. Or, I see something and translate it through my own prejudices. Sometimes, I just hear what I want to hear. One statement we put in our notes in my Gospels' classes each year is that John the Baptist had disciples so loyal they would not accept Jesus. From the vantage point of time, it seems obvious they were way off the mark. John, or JTB as we condense his name, clearly stated speaking to his followers in John 3, verse 28 that,
You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’
Maybe his admirers heard it but they didn't want to believe it. Maybe they were jealous about their guy losing the limelight. Maybe they were upset about losing their own positions of prominence close to the prophet who was compared to Elijah. It doesn't matter- they got it wrong. And so do we at times. Usually, it's over small matters but on occasion, we misinterpret crucial events or words. Our misstep in the hall was minor and funny and will soon be forgotten. But sometimes, it's no laughing matter when we take things out of their rightful context. And we or others who are innocent pay the price.

Applicable quote of the day:
Context is worth 80 IQ points.
Alan Kay 

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com