It is not everyday that you happen upon an enthralling conversation about the religious practices of men in an high school English class, but today I did. . .
Friends, I wish to convey how very important it is to speak freely, but also how much more wise it is to listen. I have such an intense care to know what our young people know about God. It has always been an interest of mine to talk and converse about the intricacies that is the Lord. Today, I had a chance to listen to a group of students explain to me why religion was "Ridiculous."
I subbed for a creative writing class. There were about two or three hand fulls of kids in the class room. I kept the room half lit in order to escape the seriousness of the school day. The desks were arranged as a u-shaped semi- circle, creating a stage for the teacher in the middle. I give my introductory speech, and tell the class to do their work. However, there were five students, over to the side of the room continuously buzzing like Brooklyn moms having a gossip session after Sunday morning mass.
The first time I approached the group, they excitedly shared their creative writing assignment from the day before. They presented their modern day take on three blind mice. I was surprised at the students' interpretation and offended by the content of the "Three Wild Hoes." The imagery sustained in my mind of "the hoes" opening and closing their legs, a line from the poem, not only produced a judgement of irresponsibility, but also made me question the inspiration behind the work. I said to my self, "What kind of teacher would let these kids write something like this!"
I have an understanding that young people are not familiar with the theological terminologies or religious pedagogies of faith, however they know things. It seems as if the Lord has equipped them with understanding, with discussion, with wonder, and with no fear. We have a generation of young people who are identifying the faults of our culture, our religious foundations, our troubled minds, and our lustful, judgmental human hearts.
I was wrong, I was judging!
Isn't it awesome how God can change your heart in a matter of minutes?
The class period went on and these students continued to talk. They were not doing their work. I walked around and reminded the students to do their work. They continued to talk about the success of a job interview one of them had at Chick Fillet, which led into a rather intense conversation about religion.
Some of the things I heard were:
"All religion is crap!"
"Catholicism is nonsense. Its nothing but rules and it doesn't mean anything."
"I mean, I got confirmed and baptized and it means absolutely nothing to me."
"All religion is the same."
"Religion is just a bunch of rules, people should understand that it is more about having a conscious connection with God."
"People shouldn't judge others, they should love others."
I was like, "listen to these kids Lord . . .look how you opened this conversation up and allowed these kids to be witnesses for you, but not in a religious-preachy way. They were sowing seeds and they were having an open conversation about religion. These five young voices quickly moved in and out of issues about sexual orientation. They talked about being gay, being around people who identified as being gay, being around people who were experimenting with being gay, and about Jaden Smith wanting to be transgendered.
I said to myself "Oh, really?"
I was totally being one of those adult eavesdroppers, ready to defend my crime by claiming it was for the safety of the students. Instead of continuing my scheme, I felt it necessary to come clean. So, I walked over, for about the fifth time, and told them that I was listening to their conversation. I expressed my interest in talking to young people about religious issues, conflicts, and perspectives. I told them about a bible study that was starting up for young people who had questions about religion, church, God, and other religious related things. With pen and notebook in hand, I asked them if there were any questions that they would like to ask me . . .
Boldly, the young Christian who had before stated that a relationship with God should be about a conscious connection with God, announced "I don't have a lot of questions, but I have a lot of opinions!"
This opened up the path to elicit the following comments:
"Just because someone is gay doesn't mean that their sin is worse than someone else's."
"People just like to point out other people's sin to make themselves feel better about their failures."
"I have a problem with the Catholic church selecting one guy to be the divine one, I mean, what about Christ? I went to Catholic school for three years and I totally disagree with what it teaches."
"The ultimate commandment is to love your neighbor as you would yourself . . . that is the main commandment; to love. . . "
"Yes love everybody, that is what we have to do."
"We are not supposed to be all judgy, I mean, If you don't agree with the way someone is living their life, then tell them privately, don't be all judgy and mean about it. If you feel you have to say something, be nice about it and then let people live their life. Let God deal with people. It is not our job to judge people or to say where they are going to go. It is not our job to tell people that they are going to hell."
It is not our job to tell people they are going to Hell!
I, myself, had not much more to add to their opinions. I did however begin to reflect on my judgement of their "Three wild Hoes" creative writing assignment. I thought to myself, wow, how would someone feel if they were to walk into my church: someone who was gay, or a prostitute, or just had a real hard way of life. Would they feel safe? Would they feel loved or would they feel judged? Would my church try to place all of their religious rules on the person seeking a new life? Is the church a hindrance to salvation? Is God making a different way for all people to have access to him . . . perhaps these young minds are open enough to see the need of a different way to reach lost souls. Perhaps they are more open to applying the idea of love.
I also began to be impressed with the explorative forum the teacher established in that classroom. The students insisted that this was one of their more tame conversations and that the teacher encourages such discussions. I was truly affected by a certain level of maturity from their articulated views on religious practices. It is rare to find students so comfortable to talk freely and to expand their minds to new ideas. This is what should happen more often in school, but I often see more practices to control student's view rather than encourage critical thinking skills. For a safe place to talk, I applaud the teacher.
So, what is the point?
If the ultimate goal for a Christian is to spread the word of Jesus Christ in order for all sinners to be saved; why is it that Christians make it so hard for people to feel connected to God? God is for everybody, not just for a religious club. Oh you Pharisees when will you learn? ." . . and except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of heaven. " (see Matthew 5:20).
The bible says that minds like these students' are close to the Kingdom. The main commandment is to love and that was the consensus of the conversation. I have to say that I agree with these kids; religion is crap. It is just a bunch of rules that people follow to make themselves feel better about themselves. It gives us a sense of "If I complete x, y, and z, then it makes me better than it, she, and he." The Lord however set up a better way to live this life. He set up a better way to help us grow into our purpose. He simply instructed us to believe in him, believe in his promises, and to love one another.
Isn't it amazing that these kids get the whole message of Jesus Christ. Christ tells us that he is the end of the law of righteousness. It is no longer about trying to prove your holiness. It is not about trying to be better that the next guy. This life is not about putting others down so that you can feel better about yourself. This life is not about following a bunch of rules. This life is about knowing God through his son Jesus Christ. Jesus says:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
(see Mark 12:30, Matthew 22:39)
Let us understand that a real relationship with God is about a "conscious connection" to him. It is about building that relationship with him, day by day, scripture by scripture, and experience by experience. I pray that you start your journey to get to know who he really is. I pray that you just start to talk to him and start your individual relationship with him. God loves everyone and he wants us all to love each other with out being "all judgy."
Here is a scripture to meditate on:
If anyone says 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
-John 4:20
We hurt and we grow from that hurt
love you with the love of the Lord
Remember to live your life on Purpose
Until Next Time
-Tamorra
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