Teacher to Teacher, October 2008

1. Follow Christ’s example. When people are yelling at you, avoiding you, writing you mean letters, glaring at you, bashing your reputation, consider the actions of the centurion and the mob at Calvary—beating, mocking, and crucifying Christ. Yet He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). 2. Deal with it biblically. According to Matthew 5:24, reconciliation is more important to God than worship. If a person is antagonistic to you, no matter who is the cause of the antagonism, Scripture is clear that you are responsible to go to him (Matthew 5:23−24, 18:15; Luke 17:3). The Scripture gives us no recourse but to approach the person or people involved and to work through the difficulty. 3. Take full advantage of the refining times. Thank God that Philippians 1:6 is happening. Some of the criticism may be deserved. Evaluate yourself. Humble yourself. Confess what needs confessing to all involved. Do not defend yourself. That is God’s job. Your job is to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:10−21). 4. Follow Paul’s example. Remember what happened when Paul preached to the people of Lystra? They stoned him. Paul did not leave. He stood up, bruised and bleeding, and went back to Lystra. 5. Hope in your God. The preacher was right: “This too shall pass.” Everything has its season. The tide of animosity will turn. Faithfully, joyfully weather the storm. Your students need a teacher who is like the Skin Horse. “He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by and by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys and would never turn into anything else.” If you find your hair getting thin, your joints getting loose, or you are feeling rather shabby, remember—it’s all part of the process of Becoming Real. And “once you are Real, you can’t be ugly.” Esther Wilkison is a freelance writer and a national consultant for BJU Press. Good teachers never stop learning. BJu Academic excellence with a biblical worldview 800-BJ-AND-ME BJU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, or national or ethnic origin. ©2008 Bob Jones University SE T2T0308 Teacher to Teacher | October 2008 page 5 http://www.bju.edu http://www.bju.edu

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