Today’s passage is Romans 12:1-8. Paul says to offer our bodies to God, to not conform to the world but be changed by renewing our minds and thus be able to approve of God’s will. We are to see ourselves through our faith, not think highly of ourselves nor denigrate others who serve the church according to the talents God gave them.
1(1) Do I care for my body as an offering to God or do I abuse it with alcohol, food, and unbalanced exercise?
2(2) Do I try to meet the standards of my workplace, community and country rather than God’s standards of honesty, justice, mercy, care and self-sacrifice?
3(3) Do I see myself objectively, as a sinner, through the eyes of faith, or do I glorify myself, holding myself superior to my brothers and sisters in Christ?
Renew my mind in God
Today I had to preside over a meeting of the Parents Association at my school.
I was not looking forward to the meeting.
In fact, I had hoped to abolish the association at the end of last year because they caused themselves and the school so much grief, fighting among themselves and getting carried away with what they thought was their power.
I considered myself superior to them and often used our church’s wisdom sayings to condemn them, especially “There are no problem children, only problem parents.”
I judged the Parents Association, particularly its executive members.
I did nothing to help them but instead endured them as wayward children, seeing myself as a martyr to their machinations.
I avoided them and their meetings, trying not to get involved with them, the parents of the children I was serving as principal! I behaved in as immature and ridiculous a manner as they did.
I did not consider that my role and responsibility as principal extended to the parents.
I failed to teach them and treat them with respect, as partners in the school.
I failed to live up to the core character traits I brought to the school.
Looking at myself through the lens of my faith, I saw my sins of petulance, superiority, and irresponsibility.
Jesus died for my sins.
His grace protects me from damnation.
His Holy Spirit guides me through the daily Word I read, the sermons I hear, and the sharings I receive in mokjang.
But I wanted to throw away part of my community!
Let me not pretend that I had a sudden transformation by the renewal of my mind.
I did have a transformation but it took a while and was greatly assisted by the office ladies gently insisting that I had to do something with the parents.
They even suggested a new position in the Parents Association that might be a help to the parents and thus to us.
I listened to their thoughts but mostly I listened to their caring attitude, their Christian love for the parents.
I realized they were right and I was wrong.
I didn’t have to act on the suggestions of my office ladies.
As principal, I have considerable power of action.
I could have brushed them and their ideas aside.
And for a moment I did want to do just that, but my action would simply have confirmed by petty anger, unreasonableness and irresponsibility.
I accepted the spirit of those ladies as God’s spirit and renewed my mind.
I saw that a great deal of the problem with the association was that they had no constitution, no set of guidelines to refer to and adhere to.
The parents were lost and didn’t know it.
That’s why they kept getting themselves into trouble.
My job was to create the ground rules for them so they could use their energy, creativity, good will and genuine desire to help.
Researching constitutions and then making one to fit our context was not a lot of fun, but in doing it I gained a deeper appreciation for the need of a constitution for our parents and for the school.
I had a number of other pressing issues to deal with and initially grumbled about the time and energy I had to take away from those issues to devote to the constitution. But I am the principal, I am the chief administrator and one of my talents is organization, so I did the work.
Today I presented the constitution as well as a forum for parents to suggest changes to the school.
Given the history of troubled relationships between the parents and the administration, I was nervous.
I didn’t know whether the new ideas would be accepted or whether I’d be in for a dogfight. I read and re-reading today’s passage.
The passage that stood out and on which I stood for the meeting was verse 2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Because I went into the meeting with new mind graced by God, the parents’ minds were also renewed. I believe God’s Spirit hovered over us all.
Application: Making and presenting the new constitution for the parents and the school in God’s Spirit.
Lord, let me always seek to see myself with the faith you have given me and confess the sins I see and show my repentance in my actions.
