Guest post from Ben Feight, 4th Grade teacher in the Mason City School District. Be sure to check out his site here. Great insight. Enjoy!

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” But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

If you know your theology then you know I’m talking about the “fruits of the spirit.” All qualities that educators strive to show each and every day to their students. Being an elementary teacher in a public school, I love my job. However, showing all of these can be extremely tough when your target audience has an attention span of 9 minutes or less.

Educators are pushed, pulled, yelled at, picked on, but yet we still must do our job with a smile. I compare being a teacher to a person standing out on a narrow dock in turbulent waters. You will have many individuals and families who will try to throw you off the dock into the ragging river because they don’t feel you do enough or deserved your title. One person once told me that he thought teachers were paid too much because we are “glorified baby-sitters.” Now, you are probably wondering how on earth I can be so cheerful and still love my job? Well, let me tell you…

Many of the students I work with come from broken homes, have no one who cares for them, or have given up on hope. Yet, everyday I get to be that shining light, that beacon of hope, the one who teaches them that the reason we fall, is so that we can get back up. We get to teach them that life is hard, but that it’s still okay to dream as Kermit the Frog sang about in his song “Rainbow Connection” where he talks about the “lovers and dreamers.” We get the job of reminding those students that there is one person who cares.

Society today has robbed our youngest generation of their childhood. I can’t tell you how many billboards and media I’ve encountered that sends the message to kids to “Grow up!”, “You have to be cutthroat to succeed!” or “You have to look a certain way to be loved!” These messages rob our children of their most basic of needs: being able to hope, dream, laugh, and love. This to some, seems like a losing battle!

Let’s go back to the bible for a minute. Jesus was the ultimate teacher. Many people say that teachers impact people by the words they say, yet Jesus impacted more by what he did. He washed Peter’s feet as a servant hand would, and he even showed mercy towards people who persecuted him. Many of his lessons always seemed to involve children and hope. For example, how he used a young boy about the age of my students to feed 5,000 followers and to give hope. Jesus gave hope in the actions he did, and many prospered from it. Words many times go deaf ears. I can attest to this by how many times my students ask when their homework is due after I’ve said it numerous times. Many people gave up on Jesus, yet he still taught, still showed compassion in his actions. The fruits he bore, sometimes came later on after the action was done as it is the case most of the time with my job. Yet, every know and then I get a small reminder of the work I do.

Just this year before school started, a former student of mine returned back to Harding Elementary, where I work to find me and tell me this, “Thanks Mr. Feight for believing in me.” He then proceeded to give me a hug. Now some of you might say how sweet that was and lose the true meaning of it. That young boy when I had him was labeled a “trouble-maker” and had a record 63 detentions in 3rd grade for acting up the year before I had him. Others had written him off and told me he was trouble. I told him these words the first day of school, “You were made to be awesome.” It evidently took.

The fruit of my labor comes from my actions. Being able to show kindness to the lost and broken. Letting them know that it’s okay to smile and dream. Being the example many of them needed. I can’t outright say, “Jesus loves you!” to my students as I work in a public school, yet Jesus touched so many people by his actions more so than his words. So I remind you of this, actions do speak louder than words.

I let my students duct tape me to a wall last year as a reward. Fun times!

Very few things excite me more than Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. Sure, it is basically the same shows every year, but who isn’t intrigued with a shark? Few of us have seen them and all we hear is how ferocious and gigantic they are!

By far, my favorite show is Air Jaws, where scientists made a few rubber mats in the shape of a seal and pulled it behind a boat, hoping to “observe” and “study” the incredible sight of a massive creature shoot out of the water. If you haven’t seen it before, be sure to check it out here.

While Shark Week is basically the same shows every year, Discovery Channel makes a few changes to their programming to create new intrigue and interest. Even though there probably isn’t a whole lot more that the Discovery Channel can find out about sharks, they manage to find creative, new ways to promote Shark Week.

To an extent, every job has routine tasks. Consistency and a certain level of predictability allows us to master abilities and sharpen our skills. And who doesn’t like to see continual success at work?

In a world of statistics and data, many businesses are ran with a bottom line in mind, not the people that make the bottom line possible. We all have a story or two to share about a past manager asking us to do something that is frustrating and didn’t make sense. We are created in God’s image and all we know and see was created by Him. We are all naturally creative people (based on being made in God’s image) and find ourselves quickly frustrated when creativity isn’t allowed in the workplace, especially when the current routine is lackluster or doesn’t work well.

Numbers have to be hit. Performance must be exceptional. The work must be consistent. While God has called us to excellence in the workplace in all areas, we have  freedom to accomplish excellence in a creative way. Some work environments naturally allow more creative freedom, but do yourself a favor and instill more creativity in the workplace, even in small doses. It’ll keep you focused, be more productive, and have fun in the workplace.

Let’s make every week at work Shark Week!

In a world of individuality and self-absorption, teamwork seems to be a rare art form. Individualism and the selfie lifestyle has crept into youth and professional sports teams, work groups, and even church. I can remember learning life lessons in a team sport context, like sacrificing for the team, communication, and hard work. Today, youth sports and professional teams alike are catering to the superstar player and are more focused on winning than teaching and building character.

While we don’t experience it often, we tend to quickly recognize great teamwork. And who doesn’t like being part of a great team?

While I didn’t participate in track and field in high school, I was always intrigued by the various relays. The goal: find the four fastest people on your team and teach them how to pass a baton in full stride. Often times, it wasn’t the fastest team that won but rather the team that smoothly passed the baton to their teammates while in full stride. The same athlete that easily defeated the competition in an individual event at the same distance may struggle mightily in passing the baton to in oncoming teammate. One small slip and the race can be lost.

No matter how great we are individually, the greater success of the group lives and dies with teamwork. What does it look like to intentionally build teamwork in your work arena? How can you encourage others?

Jesus defines true greatness as loving others and loving God. Although it isn’t unspiritual or arrogant to strive for greatness, it’s important to pass the baton when necessary so the whole team wins, not just one or two people. True teamwork allows everyone to play an important role, use their talents, and see the fruit of their labor.