Making the Grade

The apostle Paul wrote on the topic of speaking boldly for Christ in Philippians chapter 1:
12But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,13so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;14and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

So, here's the progression - Paul was placed in prison, but that didn't take him off the playing field.  In fact, he saw that as an opportunity to rely on the Holy Spirit and participate in the furtherance of the gospel.  God gave him the boldness to demonstrate his devotion to and reliance on Christ, who used him, even while in chains.   He also inspired confidence in the people of faith who were embolden to speak God's truth and to do so fearlessly.   Jesus told His disciples that when they were brought before the officials not to worry about what they would say because He would give them the right words, irresistible words.  Think about being used of God - even when we may not be satisfied with our circumstances, perhaps God has us in that place so He can speak truth through us.

As he closed out Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul asked the readers to pray for Him, that boldness would be given to him by the Lord:
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;18praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--19and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Erin Shead is a 10-year-old student at an elementary school in the Memphis area.  Her class was giving an assignment to write about their idol.  When she was told of the assignment, she asked if she could right about God. Erin’s teacher said no. Undeterred, Erin did two assignments. According to Christian legal advocacy group Liberty Institute, when she attempted to hand in her assignment about God, the teacher rejected it and told her that Erin had to take her paper about God off of school property because it might violate the First Amendment for it to remain in the classroom!   For her second try, Erin chose Michael Jackson, which her teacher said was deemed acceptable.  Afterward, students openly mocked Erin’s belief in God, causing her to ask her mother about whether she is allowed to talk about God in school.

Liberty Institute stepped in and went to bat on Erin's behalf. After discussions with Liberty's attorneys, Shelby County Schools reversed the decision of their teacher and allowed Erin to turn in her original assignment about God. And, she earned an “A!”

Attorney Jeremy Dys is quoted as saying, “Of course students can talk and write about God in school...Young teachers, like Erin’s, have been barraged with so much false information for so long that they are afraid that a 10-year-old student’s coloring assignment might violate the First Amendment. That kind of intimidation by the ACLU and Freedom from Religion Foundation is wrong and is precisely what Liberty Institute was founded to combat.”

Erin’s mother told reporters that she simply “wanted Erin’s right to be able to express herself not to ever be taken away again.”

“I just wanted every Christian to know that we have a right to be able to express ourselves,” she told the news reporter. “We understand that they’ve taken prayer out of schools, but they cannot take God out of our children.”

This incident reminds us how important it is to be bold for our faith, and we can learn from this 10-year-old how to live life with God as our "idol", as the assignment suggested, or hero, or the driving force of our lives. The 10 Commandments tell us that we are to have no other gods before us and that we are not to set up idols that take the rightful position of God in our lives.   And, if He is the center of our existence, then what will that look like?    Well, Erin can teach us here - for one thing, I would hope that we would be bold to testify about Him - Paul wrote that he was not ashamed of the gospel, the power of God for salvation.  

When we are given the opportunity, I would hope that we would respond to the Holy Spirit and rely on Him to give us the right words.  And, that's another important component - not only can we depend on God for the boldness to testify, but He will help us say the right thing, to speak into a situation in the proper manner.  

Also, this situation illustrates that misinformation can be detrimental to the Christian foundation of our culture.  There are officials who have bought into the distortion of the so-called "separation of church and state" that they react improperly when the subject of religion is brought up in a public setting, like a school or a government meeting.   That phrase, written by Thomas Jefferson, was written to a group of church leaders, it's not in the Constitution, and it was intended to express that the church should not be regulated by the government, that there should be no "state church" - I don't think it was ever intended to diminish or eliminate the influence of religion on the state, as some would have you believe.   So, we can stand strong confidently in our right to express our faith.  

Finally, Erin got an "A" on the paper - she did a good job!    And, that's a reminder to us that if we are doing something, anything for the Lord, that doesn't mean that we sacrifice quality.  Whatever we do, Scripture tells us, we are to do for the glory of God - He is pleased when we give our best and recognize that He will use what we have entrusted to Him.    We should always have the motivation to pursue excellence, knowing that He will take our gifts and talents, that He has given us in the first place, and use them to honor His name and to testify to His presence in us.