Devotions for Teachers: Doing Our Fair Share, Joyfully
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
Colossians 3:23
So, my husband and I got into a fight this weekend. The same fight we always get into, and the same kind of fight I have heard several married/dating friends tell me they have had.
We fought over who was doing more for our family.
Ugh, Lord help us all. This sense of competition, and proving that one of us is working harder than the other gets us literally nowhere. Chris and I will spin our wheels for hours, trying to prove to each other that, “Yes. You’re doing plenty…but I am doing more”. When I start to talk to Chris about how tired I am because I am essentially working two full-time jobs right now, while also being home with the kids, all he can hear is, “I’m more tired than you, and you’re not doing enough.” And so the fight begins.
And he’s not wrong. I will harbor feelings of resentment towards him for the one time all week he got a moment to himself, and I’ll hang onto it until the time is right, and then unleash it on him like it was a crime on par with murder. How dare you go to the gym after the kids are in bed!? When I still have to sit here and work? I expect you to sit on the couch and be miserable and not take a minute to better yourself, because misery loves company!
Like, it’s just insane. But married couples aren’t the only ones who do this (although I do think teacher moms + wives are a special category of tired, and I’m in ALL of y’alls corners if you have this same argument with your husbands/partners).
Teammates do this, too, don’t they?
We get mad that one person isn’t pulling their weight. We get mad about the person who came late to a staff meeting and didn’t get reprimanded for it. We get mad that we bought 80 things off of TPT this year, and one of our teacher friends hasn’t spent a dime. We get mad that someone leaves earlier than us. We get mad that someone got better scores than us, when we assumed they probably weren’t very good, because they’re always leaving early.
I know these examples so well, because I have been this person 100 times over. I am always this person. I am nice about it, sure. But I am very in tune with what I believe is “fair”. And if I feel that I am pulling my weight, and you are not, chances are good that I will write you off in my head as lazy, and it will take you a very long time to prove me wrong. This is an ugly part of my heart, but it’s real life.
Let’s look at what the Bible says about our work: do it for the Lord. Do it with a Joyful Heart. Don’t do it for them. Do it because you are called to something higher. Do it because you know it’s right. Do it because it helps kids. Do it because you love your husband. Do it because you want other people to be happy or have an easier time.
There is a lot of talk out there these days about mindset. Jesus was the original mindset preacher, y’all. He was on it before it was cool. To not roll your eyes the next time that teacher comes in late for a staff meeting, even though you were a full 45 minutes early, you just have to look at your work differently. Why are you doing it, and who are you doing it for? Did you get this degree just to prove that you’re better than that teacher? Of course not!
Are you there to help kids? Absolutely! Then be there at that meeting with joy about the work you’re about to do that day, rather than resentment of the work you’re assuming others aren’t doing.
Because, really. Who are we to judge? And at the end of the day, all we can control is what we show up and do. It’s not just a catchy mantra. It’s biblical.
So today, my prayer for all of us is that we do our work with JOY. Whether you’re at home changing diapers and managing tantrums, or you’re in a classroom navigating staff relationships and behavior problems. It’s ALL hard. But it deserves to be done with a happy heart, because you’re doing it for The Lord. And things done for his glory are good.
Have a great, blessed, hopeful week, teacher friends.
