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A Parable – Position Not Place
“OK, everyone be quiet, it’s time for class to start.” Then the class starts and the discussion begins. Finally, the teacher says, “Everyone break out into your groups.” They do, but little Johnny is having trouble so the teacher asks Little Susie to go help him and with her tutoring; the boy finally gets it. However, Little Sally decides to leave her group and starts bossing Little Billy in the other group. The teacher tells her to be quiet and go back to her group. At the end of class, the teacher walks to the front, tells everyone to go back to their seats and be quiet until the bell rings.
I submit the above is a common event in schools.
1. The teacher told everyone to be quiet, but didn’t mean no talking at all, but rather it was time she taught. She had that authority.
2. Although she told everyone to be quiet, that didn’t mean no talking at all, ever, because she also told them to work in groups.
3. No one in the groups confuse the other students with being the teacher although some are teaching others; including Susie teaching Johnny. Not all teaching is wi th authority.
4. Uh oh, Sally thinks she is the teacher and assumes the responsibility of bossing others around.
Application:
1. The teacher had the authority to tell everyone what to do, so they obeyed.
2. The command to be quiet or silent did not apply to every situation.
3. Teaching in a group did not mean being the teacher. There’s a difference between the position as a teacher, and helping as a student.
4. The freedom to help can be abused if someone assumes authority they cannot have.
“A woman is to learn quietly with full submission. I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet.” (CSB’17 1 Timothy 2:11-12)
If we can see the common sense applied to a classroom, then we can see the same common sense applied in a church. When “teaching”, it is not about the place, it is about the position.
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