Substitute Teachers

July 26, 2007 by David.

Doubtless, if you’ve ever attended a school, at some point in time you’ve had a substitute teacher. After all, there is only so much a teacher can put up with before he/she has a meltdown and has to take some time off.

Anyhow - we all have our stories about substitute teachers. Some of the substitute teachers were absolute push-overs. They’d show up for class ready to do absolutely nothing. They’d give you busy work (I’d always end up drawing) so that they could finish the Harlequin romance novel they dragged into class. Others attempted to get the students to do “real” work but would often be content with a quiet classroom. Every now and then, though, you’d get the substitute teacher that was determined to fill in for the missing teacher. This sub would often come in to the classroom with an air of responsibility and authority. However, most students would resent this. Either because they wanted to take advantage of the situation or because the substitute just doesn’t have the same authority and respect that the actual teacher does.

In many ways, if you call yourself a Christian, you’re a substitute teacher. You’re filling in for the main teacher while He’s gone. And that’s great, except for when we show up expecting people to give us the same respect as the teacher. You see, the Teacher paid a price to get where He’s at. A price you and I didn’t have to pay. He made it possible for us to substitute in the first place. Without Him, we don’t even have a job, much less an audience with the students he’s asked us to watch over.

It’s this position that we have - substitute teacher - that I believe should temper how much we try to “teach” the students around us. We’ve become so convinced that we have the same knowledge and authority of the real Teacher, that we have no problem telling the students how things should be done. And just as in school, the students resent it.

I guess the obvious question is how does this relate to our Spiritual life? Easy - we don’t need to be telling people what it means to be a Christian, no more than we want others to tell us. For example, if we come across a gay person who claims to know Christ, it’s not our responsibility or position to tell that person they are living in sin (as many Christians are quick to do). I know many people will take high offense to this statement, but here’s the gut-level truth. We don’t believe the Holy Spirit works anymore. We often turn into the overzealous substitute because we don’t think the Teacher is doing the job.

Ouch - you read that right. When we take on the role of “convictor” or “sin recognizer,” we’re actively engaging in what God Himself said he would take care of. If someone has truly turned himself over to Christ, then Christ will teach the lessons that need to be learned. We can trust in that, because He promised that. The process of discipleship is not about revealing and conquering sin, it’s about developing a closer relationship with the real Teacher so that we can ultimately learn our necessary lessons from Him. He knows intimately what lessons are needed and when. He knows the heart of each man, woman, boy and girl and can determine how best to teach that lesson. We are simply not equipped like He is. Let’s leave the hard stuff to Him.

As substitute teachers, we’re simply here to keep watch and to love the students He’s asked us to care for. We need to trust that when it comes time, the students in His care will learn the lessons they need to learn.

Posted in General | 5 Comments »