Not Connected / Accepted In Your Home Town?

I teach a class through Fresno Pacific University called ET 735-Creating on the Web. This is one of the weekly devotional thoughts for that class.

Week 4: Not accepted in your home town (or at your school site)

Luke 4:22-28, NLT

Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.” When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious.

There was lots of need in Israel, but God led Elijah to meet the needs of those OUTSIDE of Israel.

You may or may not be respected for your new-found expertise…others on other campuses, districts, states, countries may accept it far easier. Embrace this affirmation and acceptance. thrive within it. You are NOT disrespectful to your school-site colleagues if you do so.

This resonates with page 68 from Whittaker, et al:

She had just finished “wowing” the crowd with a powerful message which demonstrated her expertise and knowledge, providing relevant examples for audience members to learn from and take back to their respective schools. What was interesting was that no one back in her home school had ever seen her present or asked her to share her expertise with educators in her own district, yet here she was on a national stage engaging, inspiring, and empowering a roomful of educators from across the nation who did not know her personally. Here stood this teacher with a tremendously high skill set, valued, respected, and admired by her PLN and non PLN educators, yet ignored and sometimes even knocked down by her own co-workers. Connected educators lean on their PLN during these difficult times to persevere and push through. Making the decision to reach beyond the walls of your own workplace or school community to learn and grow—somewhat ironically, we think—may create feelings of resentment within some of your colleagues.

Have you ever felt this way? Leave a comment below! 

Proverbs 10:19, 21

“Too much talk leads to sin. 

Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.

The words of the godly encourage many, 

but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.”

Proverbs 10:19, 21 NLT

Proverbs 10:7

“We have happy memories of the godly, 

but the name of a wicked person rots away.”

Proverbs 10:7 NLT

Certain people's names won't disappear from world history, or personal memory.

However, the emotional impact might be different. The memory of the godly will continue to bless and encourage, while the memory of the wicked will fade in its intensity.

Certain Proverbs are tricky to process and interpret correctly, and this is one of them. But this interpretation is where I suppose I "land"... It's not an absolute, sweeping promise, but a general statement of how things tend to be.

Proverbs 10:4-5

“Lazy people are soon poor; 

hard workers get rich. 

A wise youth harvests in the summer, 

but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.”

Proverbs 10:4-5 NLT

Proverbs 10:12

“Hatred stirs up quarrels, 

but love makes up for all offenses.”

Proverbs 10:12 NLT

Paul would agree...without love, I am a clanging gong or a crashing symbol (1 Cor 13).

Proverbs 10:9

“People with integrity walk safely, 

but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.”

Proverbs 10:9 NLT

This relates to the concept (is it a proverb itself?) of telling the truth, then not having to remember what the truth really is, as opposed to having to remember lots of lies and who was told what.

Proverbs 10:5

“A wise youth harvests in the summer, 

but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.”

Proverbs 10:5 NLT

It is sometimes difficult to balance this with the need for legitimate, appropriate rest.