Pastor s column: Everyone could benefit from homework assignment
By NANCY LAMBING
Hillsboro United Methodist Church
School buses, backpacks crammed with supplies, lunches with favorite treats. School has begun! What a great time for all of those in the classroom! New ideas. Fresh concepts. By Christmas, the brains of students will no longer be the same! They will have new understandings and perceptions.
Education is not limited to the classroom. Nor is it limited to children and youth. In a world where methods of communication, transportation, and medicine are changing daily; we will miss out if we don't learn and grow. While some may lament over the "good ol' days," in reality who wants to live without penicillin or refrigeration?
Who really wants to do away with telephones or stop lights or airplanes or electricity or infant car seats? Even though each one of us might individually be able to do without one of these, they all increase the value and convenience of our living as a community.
Growth and change happens around us and within us. We do not think the way we did as children. We do not view the world the same way we did as teenagers. But we are not finished growing and changing.
As long as we harbor anger in our hearts, bitterness in our attitudes, and self-righteousness in our perceptions we have room to grow. When we are experiencing anger, hatred, superiority, bitterness, and disappointment, we are not the best we can be. For the sake of peaceful and compassionate relationships, we need to create environments that teach and nurture good communication and deeper understanding.
We can choose to think differently. We can decide to look at people and the world differently. After all, God views us in a different way than the human way. God looks at us with eyes of grace and love. God sees us as the best we can be.
Alarm clocks, marching band, football practice — school may not be part of our household routine, but learning can be. We can practice ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. Our minds and hearts can be opened to live in harmony with each other. We can treat one another with compassion because that's how God treats us. What a great homework assignment for all of us!
