By Alex Florez
I’ve had some great teachers over the years, the kind who shape you in ways that affect the rest of your life. But I’ve also had a couple of not so great teachers. The kind whose influence you hold in contempt, yet they remain forever woven into the fabric of your life.
One of my “not so great” teachers was my taekwondo instructor when I was about seven years old. I earned my blue belt when we were still living in Rhode Island, but in November of 1987, we moved to Florida, where I would play the role of “new kid” for a while.
That’s around the time I met a teacher I would remember for the rest of my life. Let’s call him “Lenny.”
Lenny noticed that I was a blue belt, and he jumped all over the opportunity to make sure everyone in the building noticed the new kid who had come strutting into class with his fancy blue belt. I grew uncomfortable with the attention that was clearly not designed to flatter me; he meant to knock me down a peg.
That day, Lenny decided to teach me a lesson. I was going to prove my worthiness. I was going to earn my stripes. Lenny literally made me fight for my honor.
In order to keep my blue belt, I had to successfully defend myself against anyone who wanted to take it.
One at a time, I had to fight the other boys. To be fair, we were little, and our kicks and punches weren’t all that dangerous. But one fight in particular devolved into scrapping on the mat, which looked a lot more like what you’d call wrestling, not taekwondo.
I’m proud to say I kept my blue belt that day. No one was able to best me, and I walked out of there intact, albeit shocked and dismayed.
And as much as Lenny left some unsightly scars on my heart that day, he doesn’t get to have the last word. I have a new teacher whose program not only promises eternal life, but also miraculously helps reorient the way our hearts reckon with unfortunate experiences along the way.
Jesus instructs us to follow Him closely with ears ready to listen and eyes constantly scanning the world for opportunities to help others. Jesus knows that following Him is harder than the myriad other paths available to us (Matthew 7:14). He knows that if we build our lives on the wrong principles, everything is destined to come crashing down. He asserts, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (v.24).
There will always be teachers like Lenny who do business in the currencies of fear, shame, and selfishness. But as long as we cleave to the narrow path hewn by the hands of Jesus, we will be secure, assured of our belonging and committed to the welfare of our neighbors.
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