The Teacher
“And
though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and
the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not
hide Himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your
Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you,
saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn
to the right or when you turn to the left”
(Isaiah 30:20-21 RSV)
A few days ago, I had the three
week follow-up to my annual checkup at the doctor’s
office. This was a new doctor, a Christian man from
Syria, who has a sense of humor. I mentioned a
small, rough area on my forehead, and he mumbled
some medical term or another, and then sped out into
the hallway, calling back, “I’ll
take care of it.” He raced back with
something that looked like a little fire
extinguisher and suddenly started spraying my
forehead. Some kind of white colored fog was
spewing out of the thing and it drifted around my
head, but I couldn’t see it for long because he
shouted, “Close your eyes,”
and I did! My wife, who was with me for the
appointment, said something that I didn’t hear, but
I did hear the doctor’s tongue-in-cheek response: “He
can’t hear you; he’s in pain.”
Now, I don’t think “pain”
really described it. Whatever that spray was, it
was very cold, but it didn’t last long, and it was
OK. I knew that even though he seemed to be
enjoying himself perhaps a little bit too much, it
was really for my benefit. I like this guy – he has
a sense of humor, responds quickly; he listens to
me, and has my interests in focus.
Not
unlike the Lord. Notice that the doctor didn’t seek
what made me comfortable; he did what was best for
me. He went to my need for good health, not the
desire I might have for comfort, and our personal
“comfort” is often NOT what is most important in
life.
We read an interesting article
by John Rosemond, the author of a column
entitled “On Parenting.”
The one dated February 5, 2005, was called “Spoiling,
Not Chemistry, the Root of Teen Tantrums.”
Mary Ellen, in John Rosemond’s office, gave
permission to use it, asking that we list his
website, “if they (you) would like more
parenting information.” Here it is:
www.rosemond.com.
Someone contacted John Rosemond
about a talk show psychologist who thought
“runaway hormone levels
often cause the rational part of the teenage brain
to shut down, resulting in all manner of exaggerated
emotional displays,” asking what he thought “of
this theory?”
I like John Rosemond’s reply – “Not
much,” he said, and went on to quote Alexis
de Toqueville, the 19th century Frenchman
who wrote “Democracy in
America.” John Rosemond said that de
Toqueville “was impressed
with the maturity of American teens – their
willingness to shoulder responsibility, their poise,
and so on.” How DIFFERENT from our
teens of today; and here’s what John Rosemond sees as the
REASON for that change:
“Until
recently,” he wrote, “in
nearly every culture the 13-year-old was no longer
regarded as a child. Nor was he/she an ‘adolescent,’
as we today refer to the teenager. There was
childhood, which effectively ended at 13, and there
was adulthood. Granted, the teen years were a period
of apprenticeship, but teens were expected to behave
responsibly, and they did.”
John Rosemond stated that “child
labor and compulsory education laws…” were “unarguably
good, but every ‘good’ thing has a down side”
– They “extended the
dependency of children by a good six years.”
Fascinating! John Rosemond said that if we “pamper,
indulge, and otherwise ‘spoil’ the child throughout
his/her extended dependency you’re likely to wind up
with a toddler in a teenager’s body.”
A teacher from South Africa
recently told John Rosemond that “in
her country, teenagers rarely need to be
‘disciplined’ – by which she meant punished for
inappropriate behavior. By the early teen years, the
South African youngster is self-disciplined – well
mannered, respectful, and responsible.” John Rosemond asked: “Are we
to believe that teens in South Africa, which, like
the USA, is an ethnic melting pot, have a different
biochemistry than teens in North America?”
He continued, “No, the
crucial difference between teens then and now, here
and there, is not physiology, but parents who give a
lot and expect relatively little, a media that
encourages the young to view life as a never-ending
soap opera, and a pop culture that enables teen
irresponsibility,” including “’experts’
who tell us that we really have no right to expect
mature behavior from teenagers.” And he
concludes, “Our children
deserve more than this. Don’t they?”
Yes, they do. And so do we.
Our Scripture for today goes to our real need in
life: “And though the Lord
give you the bread of adversity and the water of
affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself
anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And
your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the
right or when you turn to the left” (Isaiah
30:20-21 RSV). Today’s people want to be
pampered and avoid any kind of suffering, demanding
constant gratification. It isn’t just
teenagers, either. Almost everyone in today’s
culture wants to be coddled, indulged and spoiled,
as John Rosemond
said. It should not be a surprise that many of our
citizens are toddlers disguised as adults.
The Lord knows that you and I
need to grow up, and He will do what it takes to
make that process occur, giving us the “bread
of adversity” when needed and the “water
of affliction” where appropriate. We need to
be brought out of obsession with ourselves, and into
a state where we can respond to the Lord and other
people. If we don’t, we’ll never hear His Holy
Spirit, when we need to “turn
to the right or…
turn to the left.”
There was an old song called, “What
A Friend We Have In Jesus,” and isn’t that
what we want? We want God to be a Friend to us. We
want Him, much like my new doctor; to Respond
Quickly, to Listen Attentively to our every need, to
have Our Interests in Focus; and yes, God does have
a Gentle Sense of Humor. It is certain that He does
care about our every need, but also – He intends
that you and I will grow up; that we will mature in
Christ Jesus, and begin the apprenticeship program
He has for each one.
Do you WANT God to direct you?
Are you willing to let “the
bread of adversity and the water of affliction”
change you, if He considers it necessary? Let’s
pray:
Lord, I surrender to You. I
don’t know what the “the
bread of adversity and the water of affliction”
might be, but I trust in You, that You care about me
and know what’s best. Let me “hear”
Your Spirit and walk in Your “way.”
I love You, Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.
