The Christian Principal - Compassion (Part 2)

Sometimes we feel that what our job requires of us is contrary to what we believe.  Many principals I speak to feel that their Christian values either do not belong in a school setting or are not welcome in a school setting.  The reality is that we probably are already setting a Christian example but we do not reveal it to others.  In this part of the series, I would like to look at the idea of compassion as not only a Christian value but also as a duty of the school principal who wants their leadership to reflect their beliefs.

My pastor directed me to the story of the Good Samaritan.  The story goes as follows.  A lawyer asks Jesus how to reach eternal life.  In that discussion the lawyer correctly answers that he must love his neighbor as himself.  He asked of Christ who is considered his neighbor and Jesus told this story.  A man was robbed and beaten within an inch of his life and left for dead.  A priest came upon him and moved to the other side of the road and went on by.  A Levite passed him by in the same way.  Then a Samaritan approached and took him up.  He dressed his wounds and put him in an inn to be cared for.  Jesus then asks the lawyer, which of these three was a neighbor to who.  The lawyer replied, "the one who had mercy on him."  The story highlights the idea that the priest and the Levite knew the law and customs but chose to live differently.  The Samaritan, who at the time were considered a lower class of people, ignored custom and did what was right.  He only saw a man in need, not his race or religion.

This is a great story to teach us that compassion outranks everything including our professional position.  The first two men might have been too afraid to help because of the way it might have looked or if it may have violated custom.  The Samaritan did not care.  This applies to us quite directly in that we should live out this part of our faith no matter what.  We all have kids hurting and struggling.  We can't simply walk by because we are afraid of the fallout or how it might look in the eyes of others.  It is our duty to God to show compassion and love these neighbors as we love ourselves.

Years ago I had a student that was a ward of the state and living in a shelter.  He had a troubled past and struggled in the school environment.  He was the typical at-risk kid that looked for love and acceptance in all the wrong ways.  He was constantly in trouble with his teachers and in detention and ACR on nearly a daily basis.  One time as he prepared to attack me, I had to take him to the floor (CPI method of course).  He had to be suspended because their are policies in place to protect staff and students.  Where I could show compassion is how I treated him regardless of his behavior.  I never kept score.  Everyday he would show up and I would greet him and joke with him like anybody else.  He was always confused by this.  One day he finally asked my why I was so nice to him when he was so bad to me.  My reply was, "that's just how I roll."  I'm sure he would have felt my real response would have been corny and awkward so I kept it simple.  He was moved out of that shelter a short while after that.  I am not sure where he landed.  The truth is that the principal's job is to keep the doors open and the lights on but the reality is we do a lot of healing too.  I have come to realize that helping kids like this gives the appearance that I ignore the "good" kids but doing my part to repair the broken is how I love my neighbor and honor God in my school building.  I will not ever apologize for it.

I'm sure there are many more examples of showing compassion in our daily routines.  What I am asking of you is to always be the good Samaritan.  Don't let doing what's right and just take a back seat to perception and stigma.  Kids are worth the risk.  In the next segment, I would like to look at how we use forgiveness in our profession to honor God.

I would like to thank all those who have given positive feedback to me since the first post in this series.  Disclaimer, I am in no way a Biblical scholar.  My goal is to open our eyes to living out faith while holding our title.  I hope it inspires someone.