Truth, Beauty, Goodness...and JOY

Years ago I taught at a classical Christian school in Maryland. One morning, as I was walking down the hall, I approached a group of kindergarten students waiting in line for the next activity. One little girl was sniffling sadly. I stopped and asked her what was wrong.

“She hit me,” the child replied, pointing to the girl standing in front of her. I turned to the accused. “Did you?” The kindergartner nodded, a defiant look on her face. I asked her why. She glanced back at her teary-eyed classmate. “Because she told me I had to face forward and have a happy heart!”

No doubt about it--producing joy on command can be difficult. We may even be tempted to punch someone. And yet the scriptures are full of such commands: Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say rejoice,” (Phil. 4:4); “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer,” (Rom. 12:12); "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” (I Thess. 5:16-18). Indeed, joy is a fruit of the Spirit, listed right after love.

Our desire as Christian educators is to pursue truth, beauty, and goodness in an atmosphere of joy. This can take many forms: cheerfully greeting students as they come into the room; keeping enthusiasm for the subjects we teach even after years of the same lesson plans; encouraging kindness and consideration between classmates; and pointing to Christ as the source of all truth, beauty, goodness, and joy.

We can encourage joy in math by delighting in the fact that God created the world to be both orderly and puzzling. It is the glory of kings to search out a matter (Proverbs 25:2)! We can rejoice in history, and resist being anxious for the future, by recognizing that the heart of every king (and Civil War general, and medieval serf, and Renaissance painter, and U.S. presidential hopeful...) is in His hand (Proverbs 21:1). We can rejoice in language, knowing that Jesus is the Word (John 1:1) and that He communicates to us through His Word.

Encouraging joy doesn’t mean we are trying to fill every moment with fun. It may be a challenge to learn multiplication facts or understand thermodynamics or parse a passage from Virgil—or even to face forward and wait patiently in line. But if our faces are turned toward the Lord Jesus Christ, He will be faithful to fill our hearts and minds with true and everlasting joy.

--Angie Brennan teaches Primary Enrichment Class and Elementary Latin at Schola.