March 11, 2010
In 30 years of ministry to children, Heartland Christian Academy’s theme has been “bearing fruit that remains.” Last week we looked at the spiritual fruit listed in Galatians: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” This week, let’s look at some of the other character qualities that I have seen developed in our students in these recent years that I have served as principal. These are qualities do not apply only to children but will, if our school is successful, be fruit that remains into adulthood.
The first fruit that comes to mind is honesty and integrity. There are plenty of opportunities for dishonesty, cheating and loss of integrity for boys and girls, regardless of what school they may attend. Heartland is no exception. Children have an instinct for staying out of trouble, and sometimes dishonesty appears to be the only way they can pull it off. But I have seen the Spirit of God work in a young heart and create a sensitive conscience. As principal, I have seen children willingly tell the truth, because they believe it is what Christ wants them to do. Cheating and lying is not the norm. Integrity and honesty is not the surprising exception.
The second fruit developed in students is the willingness to take personal responsibility for actions and behavior. This fruit excludes excuses and accepts the consequences of behavior. I recently had a student stay behind from an end of the quarter reward field trip at the Buena Vista Ski Resort because his school work was not done. He was the only boy in six grades to have to stay at school with the principal, but he did it with a non-complaining acceptance that this was the just consequence for his failure to complete his work. I saw Christ working in this young man, and I was proud of him.
Another fruit of God-influenced character is a sense of healthy self-worth not based on performance alone. Grades and giftedness are not everything. Talents and abilities are a gift from their Creator. Worth comes from being loved as a child of God, not being athletic or cute or super-smart. When a student truly knows their value as a young disciple of Jesus Christ, no future immersion in the world’s standards is going to rob them of the Spirit-given fruit of a humble and balanced self-image.
Finally, I see the fruit of personal excellence, as students learn that they are working to honor God in their labor. Now, not every Heartland student is an “A” student, although many have achieved extraordinary levels of capability compared to how they came to us. However, every student hears from their teachers on a regular basis, “is this your best work?” This is not an easy lesson, teaching children to do their work for the pleasure and glory of God, and therefore offering their very best. The world’s standards of “who cares?” and “it is good enough” are powerful. At Heartland, we believe that the prompting of the Holy Spirit is even more powerful!
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