Teaching and Learning

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart ...

 - From the Second Chapter of Acts

It's hard to be liberal in so many things . . . yet not to want to be affiliated with liberals. The condescension, the patronizing, the haughtiness, the arrogance. 

If you would be persuasive, be persuadable.

If you want to tear down pride, overcome others with humility.

If you would be an effective teacher, be an effective learner. 

When I hear good, solid, decent, honest, hard-working and charitable people called "deplorable" by a high and mighty person, I'm taken back to the schoolyard as a popular kid rounds up a little gang to mock the kids that are shy, overweight, of average grades, not athletic. And usually it was much worse than just mocking.

When in the workplace, a person is discovered to be a Christian, and her co-workers seem to double down on the vulgarity and irreverence, just for sport, it makes me recall high school scenes where you didn't dare befriend the friendless kid, lest you be cast the same aspersions.

As a student in K-12 public schools, and then as a college student getting three degrees, I found it insulting for a teacher or professor to be so obviously one way politically, and to have no shame in flaunting his intelligence over students that stupidly supported other candidates. It was ugly, whether it came from the Left or Right; whether it was the one McGovern supporter in my 7th grade Social Studies class with a Republican teacher, or a modern teacher heaping public scorn upon The President (and therefore, his voters . . . and their children!)

Immediately after Christ's resurrection, the Apostles began preaching, and in the first wave, Peter was the main one. He was the first figurehead of the new movement. He minced no words and he took no prisoners. In the parlance of 20th Century campmeeting evangelists, he stepped on a lot of toes. This is something we rarely see today. We don't want to offend anybody!

And in the purity and credibility of the message, the people responded readily. Far from being offended, they were cut to the heart! They were moved, they wept. They felt pangs of guilt as they admitted their role in killing the Son of God! 

They said "What must we do?!"

So many modern problems stem from a failure of people, especially people in authority - people with wealth, people that boss around others, people with talents, good-looking people, people that teach - to do whatever they do, with humility. 

Oh no! I messed up! What should I do now?

We're so worred about offending 3%, that we insult 30%. We're so dismissive of lesser mortals, that we forget that we can learn from them, and that they have wisdom we lack. 

An initial lesson of Easter is repentance. It's realizing we may be wrong, and then acting according to a simple fact: 

We're all in this together. And I need you.