Practical Education Methods .................. Parables 436

August 30, 1994

The students in Leah’s elementary class were each given two plants and instructed to put one in a closet and the other where it would receive plenty of sunshine. Otherwise, both plants must receive equal care.

After a few weeks, the teacher asked the class what they observed. All reported that the plant in the sunlight was twice the size as the other one. All but Leah said they learned from the size of the larger plant that plants need sunlight. Leah had a different view. She looked at the smaller plant and said, “No matter where you live, you can grow.”

While some teacher might not appreciate that response, Leah’s mother applauds her daughter’s thought processes. Leah did not give the “expected” answer and she “doesn’t think like the others.” She is very “positive.”

My question is: will the education system encourage thinkers like Leah? Or will she eventually “learn” to give only the “expected” answers?

A common method of education involves teachers learning material, then passing the information to students, often by using a lecture. The students use notebooks to record what they hear, memorize some of it in order to get a passing mark on an exam, then forget most of what they learned.

Although most manuals on teaching say this is the least effective way to learn, many teaching situations fall into this lecture/exam pattern. Sunday school and church are often similar. Even though preachers and Christian teachers usually spare us from exams, most use lectures and applaud note-taking.

Jesus lectured too, but used another teaching method that was very effective. He involved His students both in discovering and defining problems as well as involving them in the solutions.

The following example illustrates a modern application. Students form a circle leaving one person out. They wrap their arms tightly around the neighbor on each side and will not allow the one outside in, no matter how hard he or she tries.

After the exercise, the class discusses how it felt to be excluded (helpless, unwanted, angry) and how it felt to exclude one person (fun at first, then uncomfortable, guilty). They examine ways outsiders can find acceptance, what to do if they are part of such a group and do not like what is happening, what the others might do if one person broke the circle, and creative methods of displaying acceptance.

After this exercise and discussion, they will long remember the importance of Romans 15:7, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

In a class that uses active learning exercises, the students are not expected to give certain responses. There is no right way to feel nor is there an exam hanging on the answers. The students are drawn into a situation that produces emotions very much like those they experience every day but in an environment where it is safe to discuss them. Students who participate in the above exercise often say they feel just as bad keeping someone out as they feel being left out, something they normally would not admit in an actual life situation.

Jesus taught His disciples this way, but rather than create an artificial situation, He took them out into the marketplace. Together they met with, taught, and confronted their world. After a debriefing with the Master teacher, those men never forgot His lessons.

Leah would fit extremely well into classes like that.

Becoming intelligent ................ Parables 345

November 24, 1992

A pad of notepaper has the following caption across the top: “I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person!”

One psychology textbook says intelligence is very difficult to measure. For one thing, there is little agreement on exactly what it is. Is it the capacity to solve problems? Or remember what you know? Or understand other people? Or be competent performing job-related skills? Or is it the quantity of information you can stuff in your brain? Besides whatever it is, how can intelligence be tested?

To complicate the matter, intelligence can be very selective. People considered autistic may not be able to function well enough to go to school or even be employed, but some of them can compute numbers as quickly and accurately as an electronic calculator or draw detailed pictures of complex subjects from memory. Some “average” people know how to take apart a tractor motor and put it back together. Others are better at learning how to write songs or draw pictures.

Those of us who belong to God sometimes wonder if we are armed with any wits at all regarding spirituality. We find ourselves so delighted to learn even the simplest truths about Him and what He expects of us, and then so quickly forget what we know. Spiritual truth does not come easy because our own habits and strategies for life run contrary to the way God wants us to live. To have spiritual wit, we have to learn how to think His way.

Romans 12:2 speaks about this process: “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Simply put, our problem is that the natural human mind, no matter how clever, does not evaluate God’s will as good, acceptable, or perfect. Brain-power, logic, or I.Q. have nothing to do with one’s ability to trust God and even when He is trusted, everyone, wits or not, has to enter into this process of mind-renewal.

God does give Christians a head start in the matter. As the Apostle Paul says, “we have the mind of Christ,” itself an outstanding concept. He also adds, “Christ has been made unto us wisdom...” With Him at the center of our minds so we can think His thoughts means our actions are more apt to be in line with God’s will.

On the other hand, it is so easy to be conformed to this world. That means, among other things, to be centered on one’s self, which is the way most of the world operates; “look out for number one” and considering every event, person or piece of data is in light of how it relates to ourselves. I can go so far as to refuse any new ideas unless I can somehow fit them comfortable with what I have decided is true. Sometimes my worldly mind is even behind “good” deeds, those done mostly for personal satisfaction or recognition. From that, it is not difficult to understand that a mind conformed to the world is far more interested in personal comfort, power, and promotion of their own interests than it is concerned about God or the needs of others.

In contrast, a renewed mind moves away from putting self at the centre of things. Instead, Christ is put there. When He becomes the focus, life begins to take on a much different meaning. Christ-minded people begin to ask: How does God look at these events? How does this person relate to God? How does that data fit into His Word? What does God says is true about me? What can be done to glorify or promote God in this situation?

A renewed mind is not a perfect mind; there is still a struggle with life’s hurts and with decision-making. We tend to panic now and then and go back to patterns of behavior that used to work for us, pre-Christian strategies, if they could be called that, and we learn so slowly that they really do not work at all. We need God’s Spirit and His Word continually reminding us and helping us with how we should think.

So take heart all who wonder if God missed them when He passed out brain power. Those who have the wisdom of God may sometimes feel “unarmed” but with His wisdom, anyone can be a formidable foe in a battle of wits.

The Value of our Thoughts ................. Parables 202

(January 31, 1990)

I once offered a meditative friend “a penny for your thoughts?” He laughed, “They aren’t worth it...” Knowing him, that probably wasn’t true, however he did get me thinking about the value of thoughts.

Our minds are capable of incredible activity. Far more complex than even the most sophisticated computers, we process a myriad of stimuli and information every second. The sights, smells, sounds, colors and temperatures around us are noticed in varying degrees of consciousness, responded to, again in varying degrees and all that information is tucked away somewhere inside our heads. Even as that happens, we might be involved in an assortment of other activities that requires some thought: anything from doing a crossword puzzle to performing brain surgery (hopefully not at the same time).

Considering the incredible potential of the brain, what a surprise to hear we only use about one-tenth of our mental capacity. (And there are some days that might be reduced even further, at least for some of us.) However, in spite of the many times our minds can’t seem to focus on any particular thing and in spite of the times we put our mind to things that are an admitted waste of thought, our thought-life has value. It determines the kind of people we are and how we behave.

TRUE NATURE: Proverbs 23:7 warns about being deceived by those who seem to be virtuous on the surface but are not: “For as (this phoney person) thinks in his heart, so is he... his heart is not with you.” In other words, the real nature of a person can sometimes be hidden, only known to God by their thought life.

BEHAVIOR: The truth is, seldom do thoughts stay hidden. Jesus said, “For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies...” (Matthew 15:19). In another place He said, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Simply put, every word spoken, even every action, begins with a thought.

Wise king Solomon wrote: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”  He was well aware that whatever pollution is in there will eventually pour out. If we allow our thoughts complete freedom, never disciplining our mind to center on good, right, peace, and other virtuous topics, we need not be surprised if our BEHAVIOR takes a turn towards those negatives and we wind up saying and doing things that we ourselves don’t even want.

Actually, God desires His people preoccupy themselves with thoughts of Him. That doesn’t mean we never think about anything else, but that when we have nothing to put our brain to, we turn it to Him. He says that whenever we do, He will keep us “in perfect peace” (see Isaiah 26:3), a very desirable state of mind indeed!

The problem is this: It isn’t easy fixing our mind on anything, God included. Mine sometimes pops all over the place. All that agitation is not the peace that God promised. It takes some mental discipline to think on one thing at a time.

It also takes some knowledge about the subject. How difficult to think about God if He is an unknown entity. He knew that, so He provided a way to know Him personally through a faith-relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ (“No one comes to the Father but by me”). In fact, Jesus, who is the “exact representation of His person” came to reveal the glory of God to us. He said that when we see and know Him, we see and know God.

After that relationship begins, we deepen in knowledge of God through a continual discovery of Him through the Bible, written also “that we might know God...” and in knowing Him, our thoughts are more able to dwell on Him... soon becoming far more precious than many pennies!

Guard your mind ....................... Parables 027

There is a phenomenon known as “writers’ block.” It happens periodically to authors, whereby something seems to impede the flow of ideas. It can last for a few minutes, or it can obstruct creativity for a long time.
 
For the present, I’ve not experienced writers’ block to any great degree. However, I do not attribute that to some superior creative skill or imaginative powers. I have no more potential in that department than anyone who writes or aspires to write.
 
Creativity is a God-given characteristic. Made in the image of the Creator and molded in His likeness, our creativity expresses itself in the kitchen, under the hood of old cars, in front of an easel, or on the blank walls of old buildings. Everyone creates, in one way or another.
 
Behind inventive activity is the faculty of imagination. We first create in our minds. Some ideas are good, but too often creative thinking is self-centered, wasted on useless pursuits, foolishness, or even evil schemes. My mind is capable of ideas that, if carried out, would be highly destructive. My imagination can pervert and twist reality, justify sin, and even call evil good. All rebellion against God begins with such sinful thoughts. No wonder He warns, “Guard your (mind) with all diligence, for out of it proceeds the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
 
The battle of diligently guarding my mind has shown me that avoiding evil input is the least of the problem. Foul thoughts pop up without any obvious provocation, threatening to change the course of my behavior. Trying to put them out is not always easy. Vital to their control is the principle of replacement, but again, I must be careful what replacements are used.
 
Many times I thank God that He has provided marvelous resources from which Christians can draw their thoughts and ideas. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says that we actually have the mind of Christ. Because of this provision, it is possible to win victories in this battle to guard what is going on inside our heads.
 
The Bible says that God’s thought are higher than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:9) and the psalmist says, “How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand . . . ”
 
Personally, I find that very exciting. Those who have the mind of Christ have the capacity to never run out of creative and godly ways to think. The challenges of writing articles, or doing anything else for that matter, become opportunities to rely on the Lord and to discover that He never stops creating.