"[Love] is not
self-seeking." (1 Corinthians 13:5b NIV)
I know people who can talk and talk and talk. In
fact, I had a student in my class once who wouldn't stop talking. She also
made constant drumming noises on her desk. Now, please understand that I
don't tolerate little noises like that. They make me crazy, and my students
all knew this. In this case, however, the girl who made the noises and
talked all the time was a special needs student and she actually couldn't
stop herself.
There was another student in my class who wanted
to please me, no matter what. He was not at all happy, and without
explaining why, he asked his father to come to the classroom and "fix" the
problem. The father came, and not understanding what was upsetting his son,
he started accusing me. His son, however, was quick to correct him and let
him know that he needed to stop the girl from making noises so it wouldn't
upset me!
In the end, it was a major misunderstanding, and
we all had a good laugh. This opened the door for me to talk to this student
about accepting people how they are.
"But the noise really bothers me, too!" the
student admitted.
I looked at him and said, “Can we use these
annoying noises to help others? I have an idea. When the noise starts to
upset you, let me know and I'll tell you a joke."
The dad nodded his approval. He then affirmed that
his son respected me as a teacher and thanked me for my efforts in resolving
the problem. I invited the father to come to my classroom at any time.
In the end, that student learned to accept the
girl who made noises, and within a week, the noise didn't bother him any
more.
This student learned that we can't just think
about our own happiness. We have to learn to not be self-seeking. That's
what love really is. Love doesn't seek itself, it seeks the happiness of
others first and foremost!
Rob Chaffart