Taking a Stand part 1 - Loving Others While Still Standing Against Sin

 Do you ever wonder why some people get chances they don’t seem to deserve? That’s part of God’s grace (good things we don’t earn) and mercy (not getting what we deserve.) It’s also part of how we take a stand by showing who God is. Still, we have to remember to take a stand against evil at the same time.

In 6th grade (still grade school in 1980-81) I had a classmate named Tim Meese. He was not a real bully. His name-calling and swearing and stuff got old but he was never physical, I give him credit. I never dreaded seeing him so I termed him a “bad behavior kid,” not a bully.

I always prided myself on good behavior, so a part of me wondered why our teacher Mr. Vrsan asked him to be in charge of the class a couple times when he had to leave for 5-10 minutes. He wasn’t an awful student, he even tried to teach a little math and did okay. But, I wasn’t following Jesus, so my flesh said “he doesn’t deserve this privilege.”

Thinking about it later, Mr. Vrsan – our first male teacher, from Czechoslovakia, he dealt with Nazi oppression, then fled Communism – was likely just what someone like Tim and a few others needed. I can see they may have really looked up to him. He was tough but not too strict, if you admitted you had a problem he’d help. I had a brain freeze at the blackboard my first day of 6th grade and just said “I forgot how to divide.” He just laughed it off and said he knew I knew how, I just had to give it time. In other words, don’t make excuses, work it out and get it done. It came to me after a moment. I have no idea what he and Tim discussed. I do know Tim and a few others started behaving better over that year. And, while Tim and his family had moved after 6th grade, he was back for part of high school and came up to me and was really nice and polite and everything. (Who knows, maybe he got saved in Florida.)

My point is twofold. First, I should have been happy for Tim to have that chance. It’s important to give people chances. Mr. Vrsan wouldn’t have let him if he thought Tm would be really mean. That’s why we’ve suspended kids if they’ve been really nasty, like one time things got so bad a girl was under the table crying, but we forgive little things and just try to help kids improve. We work things out through the Matthew 18 principle. We forgive because Jesus tells us to, sicne He forgave us. Sure, we should get away from someone for our own safety at times, but it also means understanding they need Jesus and His love.

Sometimes love has to be tough, just like Jesus takes a stand against evil and hypocrites. But, that leads to my second point – standing against evil is love.

I don’t know what Tim’s or the others’ homes were like. But, if someone admitted to problems at home, Mr. Vrsan would have said what was going on was wrong. That’s what some kids need to hear – there’s a better way to treat people, even if how they act is all they see at home. Mr. Vrsan could even share firsthand how the brutal Nazis thought some (like him, like him, since he was Slavic) were inferior, and how awful that was. You can see it was vital for him to stand against evil in his own life and then to help others.

We have to stand for God’s truth. At the same time, we need to show who Jesus is. People need to see a difference in us. Not all are reached the same way, of course. I enjoyed Mr. Vrsan, but some of his jokes (if a kid said they forgot their homework he’d quip, “You’re getting senile in your old age”) rubbed some the wrong way. But that’s where we rely on the Spirit to show us how to reach others. The important thing is, God used Tim being in charge of the class for a few minutes to help him, and eventually to help me see the need to give kids a chance. But Mr. Vrsan wouldn’t just say “Here’s the keys.” He expected improvement so someone like Tim could have that chance. The same way we must forgive while standing against evil.