There is a war going on beneath the human skirmishes of everyday life. *
This truth made me consider how I respond to a troublesome student in my class.
Benny drives me crazy. This six-year-old boy has the attention span of a skittish kitten (and usually pretends he is one, meowing loudly while I am explaining our phonics lesson). His pencil case is a gun that shoots erasers at any classmate within range. Even when I confiscate all his personal belongings, he will find something obnoxious to do like tie his shoelaces together. During a recent game, he threw a beanbag that hit me square in the face.
Is there a war going on in my classroom? You better believe it. However, the real war is not between Benny and I, but between a jealous God and a devious enemy on the battlefield of my heart. My classroom skirmishes with Benny can be victories or defeats in this Great War between Spirit and flesh.**
Defeat starts when my good desire for an orderly classroom morphs into idolatrous worship of comfort and organization. When Benny prevents classroom order, I respond with frustration, anger, and bitterness by raising my voice and punishing him without explanation. Finally, I simply send him out of the class because I don’t want to deal with him anymore. I love my own comfort more than I love Benny and helping him grow as a person.
The road to victory begins when my desire for order is submitted to my desire for God. I can love Benny with a Christ-like love, and act in his best interest at the cost of my personal comfort. This looks like patiently reminding him of the rules before class begins, consistently and calmly enforcing them out of a love that seeks his growth, and giving him encouraging high fives when he makes steps in the right direction. It also means I don’t give up on him because I love him.
My everyday skirmishes with Benny are significant in light of a Great War, and my response can lead to victory or defeat.
*Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change pg. 93
**Galatians 5:16-17
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