Introductory/Group Lesson: The Hard Ones

Mario

Opening Prayer:

Opening Story:

I’ll never forget Mario. He was eleven in fourth grade, which meant he’d been held back. His defiance seemed authoritative, which didn’t match his fourth-grade social interactions and ability level. When he got mad, he threw down—he was right no matter what I tried to show him.

One afternoon, the janitor brought Mario to me after lunch. “Mrs. Adams, I caught Mario stealing. We do not approve of that sort of behavior here. I brought him to you instead of the front office since it was his first time.”

Mario’s shoulders slouched in angry defeat. I thanked the janitor and asked Mario to sit at my table. I allowed him time to calm down and when he was ready, we talked.

“Mrs. Adams, now what am I gonna feed my little brother and sister?” His head fell into his hands as tears dripped through his fingers.

“What are you talking about?”

“Those oranges.” The anger returned. “I didn’t steal them. Everyone gave me theirs. He said I was stealing.  I wasn’t.” His shoulders rose up and down in huffs of angry tears.

“So, wait. You got in trouble for taking oranges?”

He nodded and tried to dry his unwanted tears.

“Why do you need them for your siblings?”

He tried hard to fight the tears back, but he lost the fight. “My mama works all weekend and we out of food till she gets paid. I gotta take care of them. What am I gonna do?” More tears.

That’s when I finally understood. Mario was the parent in his home. He disciplined his younger brother and sister while mama worked. He fed them. He made sure they had their needs met. Essentially, he was the father and authority. At eleven years old.

After that day, I changed my interactions with Mario. We discussed that while he was in charge at home, I needed him to let me be in charge in the classroom. I acknowledged and respected his position, and asked him to respect mine as teacher too. We also arranged a discreet way for him to pick up left-overs on Fridays so he could take care of his siblings and still look cool with his peers.

Mario taught me that we never know what is going on in the lives of these kids. We don’t know what makes them hard on the outside and we don’t know the emotional difficulty they face on the inside. He showed me that respect goes both ways if we want to make a true difference in their lives. And bigger than that, he taught me that slowing down and looking at the situation through the eyes of love helps us see things we never imagined were hidden underneath.

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a (NIV)

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. 

Discussion

1. Do you have a Mario? Have you taken the time to sit down with that child and talk to each other, person to person? Discuss.

2. Describe one of your hardest students and how you are currently handling their behavior. Brainstorm new ways to interact with that student.

3. How can you show the love of Christ to your students in the classroom? Give some practical examples of what you already do and more ways you can do it more fully.

4. Put your name everywhere you see the word love in the above scriptures and read it to yourself. Which of these attributes seems to be the strongest in your life with the students? Which is the weakest? What can you do to strengthen the weaker areas?

5. Are you looking at your students through glasses of love? Or glasses of frustration? Preconceived ideas? Or Weariness? How can you work on changing those glasses this week?

Homework

              Read and pray 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 every morning for the next week. Ask God to continue showing you how to grow those attributes in you.

Personal Reflection

              Are there difficult coworkers that are in your workplace? This week, as you pray for your classroom, pray for them and their classrooms. Pray for your interactions with them and ask God to soften your heart toward them so they will be able to see the love of Christ in your life.