I overheard a conversation this morning that keeps chewing on me, so that usually means I better get this off my chest.
Apparently today was "See you at the Pole," the annual event that draws students to gather around the flagpoles of their schools to pray in the morning before school starts. As usual, my family missed it. Actually, I didn't even know it was happening today, and somehow, we seem to miss it every year.
You know what? I'm okay with that. But the woman I overheard this morning obviously was not. She was bashing her teenaged son for not getting out the door early enough to go. By this time, he was already at school and she was bad-mouthing him to someone else.
Now, I don't know this family's story, so I want to be careful to not pass judgement on them. I got the impression, however, at least from the mom, that these kinds of public displays of their faith are very important to them, and she was obviously quite displeased with her "slacker" son.
I wonder, what kind of impression was her attitude making on the one she was speaking to? I wonder how she would feel about me and my family if she were to read this post and see that I'm okay with my kids missing See You at the Pole. Would it be a good thing for them to go? Sure! But does it mean they are lazy slackers and poor witnesses to their faith if they miss it? I would certainly hope not!
One of the things I love so much about God is that he doesn't expect us to adhere to a set of man-made rules in order to follow him. That's called legalism and it can be ugly and hurtful. Jesus set us free from all that. He wants us to love him and love our neighbors, and he leads us to do that in all kinds of ways that are individual to each of us. Some may feel very much called to attend an event such as See You at the Pole on any given day. For someone else, maybe God didn't prompt them to go because he knew they would need the extra sleep in order to serve him in some other way. Who are we to judge what we can't possibly know?
I don't mean to sound like I'm criticizing See You at the Pole. I think it's a great event and serves an important purpose. But another concern I do have is when people use things like that as a platform for "putting God back in schools." That's another thing I love about God. He is so big, how can we possibly be so arrogant as to think that we can remove him from anywhere, or for that matter, put him anywhere? God has not left the schools. If there is even one Christian in the building, he is there, because the Holy Spirit resides in that person's heart. I pray every day that my daughters have the courage and conviction to live out their faith in school and out, no matter where they are. All that's required for that to happen is a love for the Lord, not a once a year gathering around a flagpole.
