What's Your Worth?
I've been thinking a lot about evaluations. Makes sense — now that The Boy is in a mainstream classroom, we’re looking at his performance compared to his peers. Celebrating successes, looking for interventions, the whole drill.
And, man, if it were possible to evaluate The Boy in terms of opening and closing doors, he’d be off the chart!
Thing is, there are some areas where The Boy will never keep up with his peers. Like sports. Or even standing.
And how do we know which of his “deficiencies” are related to CP, and which are related to being 10 years old?
Which brings me to this thought:
We live in a culture that values us as producers and consumers. What we make and what we own define us. So culturally, we are valued according to what we produce and consume. “Character” has value so far as it helps us produce and consume more. (See: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”)
The Bible seems to turn this paradigm on its side. We are valued according to our relationship with Christ and the resulting character. “Production” and “Consumption” has value so far as they help us know Christ and grow in character more. (See: Gal 5:16-26).
I think this is a really important distinction. Clearly there is value in what I produce. Work is worth doing. Same with what I consume. Lots of people were employed in building the house we live in. And I think The Mom is keeping Starbucks afloat single-handedly.
But production and consumption are not the main thing. Character is. And more specifically, from a faith perspective, relationship with Christ is the main deal.
So be productive. And consume thoughtfully.
Through the Roof
A Blog Supported by the Mosaic ministry of Third Church, ECO
"Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on." (Mark 2:3-4)
About: This is a blog about accessibility, intimacy, and community. About being welcome. It’s also about bringing up The Boy. He's 10 years old and has cerebral palsy. Also popping up are The TeenGirl, who just turned 13, and The Mom, who is awesome. It's written by The Dad. It's my words, my view. Other people will think differently and have different opinions. Good.