Suiting Up, Group/Introductory Lesson

The Armor of God

              As a kid, I idolized my teachers. They were basically superheroes in my opinion and could do no wrong. I never thought about them having families, hobbies, quirks, or bad habits. Honestly, I never considered they had lives outside of the school building.

              I began my internship as the school year started. One of the most anticipated parts was getting to know veteran educators as peers. I couldn’t wait to collaborate, work on projects, share inspirational stories, and discuss deep topics. The county-wide back to school meeting was encouraging and the meal provided afterward was fabulous. I was on cloud nine.

              Until I wasn’t. The more meetings I attended, conversations I overheard, and discussions I was privy to, the less enamored with my colleagues I remained. Many veteran teachers had bad attitudes or potty mouths and I learned quickly to stay away from the teacher’s lounge because gossip and drama manifested quickly in there.

              Now don’t hear what I’m not saying. This was not every teacher I worked with. There were some colleagues who were amazing human beings. But what I am saying is I had idealized and even idolized educators as being without flaws and my level of expectation was unrealistic. Educators of all sorts are just like me: flawed, broken, and human.

              During this semester of changing the lenses I viewed educators through, I also came to another realization. Education is often a battleground. Different cultural backgrounds and heritage. Political views that differed drastically. Different educational training, theory, and expectations. A wide array of views on lesson planning, team teaching, and testing policy. Personality differences and cliquish actions and tons of gossip. At times it felt like high school all over again.  

              Once I came to grips with this reality, I also saw something else. A spiritual war happening behind the scenes, dictating how individuals communicated and worked together. An unseen hand that manipulated friendships, cohorts, race, and age. Dissention between administration and grade levels.

              The war remained unnoticed to most, but slowly I asked for eyes to see. God allowed glimpses of the actions occurring behind the scenes and taught me how to pray for myself and coworkers. That first year I was so careful and tried to stay close to God about these matters. I prayed for eyes to see, words to share, and silence when it mattered. I began seeing misunderstandings as confusion from the enemy and disagreements as opportunities for interventions of peacekeeping.

              Being an educator was nothing like I imagined. There was no fairytale hallway where everyone always got along or worked well together.  But there were other believers who were willing to join me in praying for coworkers, staff, and administrators.

              School remains a battleground. The enemy came to kill, steal, and destroy and he will go to any lengths to keep control of adults and students alike. He loves it when there are hostility and anger. He sinks his talons deeply into wounded hearts and plants lies disguised as truth. He tears apart what Jesus wants joined together and pits people against the other over issues that don’t really matter.

              We are active in this battle and we must choose a side. Are we going to be used as God’s tool for good or the enemy’s vessel for evil? If we are God’s, we must learn what it means to suit up every day in the armor of God. Join us this week as we visit Ephesians 6 and discuss the implementation of God’s armor in our educational systems around the United States.

Scripture Reading:

Read Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV):

                   Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Discussion

1.      In what ways have you been let down or encouraged by the environment you work in?

2.      How have you witnessed the spiritual battle that takes place in schools?

3.      How can you pray for the adults in your school?

4.      Is this the first time you have considered the idea of a spiritual battle happening on your campus? Discuss.

Personal Reflection

              Think back to your first year teaching. What excited you? What broke you? What parts let you down? As you reminisce, think about the lessons you’ve learned since then. Have you become hard? Private? Open? Helpful? Then consider the spiritual war you are facing in your school. Are you an active participant or a non-committal bystander? Spend time deciding where you are or need to be.