How a music teacher’s negative
attitude in High School discouraged a lot of students. Why faith is a complete
turn-off to the world if God is always presented as being judgmental.
When I was in High School, I used to enjoy music and
looked forward to learning how to decode all of the notes and symbols on paper.
Then one year a new principal of music took over the department and she turned
out to be the most obnoxious teacher in the whole school. She had a sour
attitude towards most of her students and even though we tried hard to please
her with our efforts, it was never enough. Thus, instead of carrying on with
music, most students like myself gave it up as soon as we could. If only her
demeanor had been different, it may have produced a lot more musicians and
singers in our school.
I remember one day that I was hurrying to get to my
after school work. In order to save time, I changed out of my school uniform
into my working clothes. Just before I left the school building, I met the music
principal. She berated me for twenty minutes about not honoring the school by
being out of uniform. I tried to explain, but she wouldn’t listen to me. All she
was interested in was teaching me a lesson that had no relevance to my life. I
was late for work and had some of my precious pay docked. To this day, I have
been unable to remember a single music lesson that she ever gave; all that I
recall is her ugly attitude.
Verse of the Day: Job 34::9 For he says, 'It profits a
man nothing when he tries to please God.'
Sadly, for some people, God seems to be the same.
Churches and preachers present a judgmental and vindictive God who wants to
destroy sinners by their billions and wreak havoc in their lives. How can people
be in love with a God that absolutely terrifies them? How can they cheerfully
serve a deity who wants to eliminate them? If God is presented as being critical
of people all of the time, then no wonder that the world is tuning out. Divine
judgment is a serious issue, but there also has to be a generous helping of
grace applied for the Gospel to be effective and attractive.
Christ came into the world to encourage, comfort, and
unite us by His love. He gave up His life because God loves this world. And
Jesus was raised from the dead because God wants that love to continue for ever.
Isn’t that the message of the Gospel? Isn’t that the hope we all have faith in?
Isn’t that the lesson we all yearn to learn?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we can never applaud You
sufficiently for the work of salvation that You wrought for our world. We are
truly grateful for the wonder of Your Life, the power of Your Sacrifice, and the
glory of Your Resurrection. We are attracted to You because You embrace,
comfort, and guide us. Help us to encourage others around us to do the same, by
presenting to them the grace of Your Gospel. In Your Precious Name, we pray.
Amen.
John Stuart traqair@aol.com
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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