Discipline, Decorum, and Putting on Christ
I love gardening, and there is something especially satisfying about getting to eat food that you grew yourself. But sometimes growing plants is hard work. We have an overabundant population of blackberry vines on our property, which, if you’ve never dealt with wild blackberry vines, are thorny and invasive. Left to themselves, they spread everywhere until all you have is a tangled heap that produces so little edible food (that you can actually get to) that it’s hardly worth having them at all. You have to train vines. This involves a good deal of pruning, but the goal isn’t just to not have branches in the wrong places. The goal is for the vine to grow. To flourish. To fulfill its purpose by maturing and spreading in the right direction, and to thrive in the process. If all you ever do is prune without also watering, fertilizing, and positioning the plant to grow in the right direction, you will have no fruit in your garden.
When we think of discipline, is this the image that comes to mind? Or do we think of the old-school, stern-faced pedant whose greatest joy in life is to rap delinquent knuckles with a wooden ruler? A “disciplined” person is typically one who shows a remarkable level of self-control in some aspect of life. He follows his self-imposed schedule to the letter, or always puts work before leisure, or never wastes time on his phone. Often, when we talk of discipline, we mean either avoiding bad behavior or the punishment that follows engaging in it. But at Pinnacle Classical Academy, we want discipline to mean something more.
In Ephesians 6:4 we are told, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” The term discipline is related to the term disciple—another word for a student. Discipline, by definition, is not about punishment but about teaching. In the same way, correction is not just about telling someone what they did wrong but about showing them the correct way. The term instruction comes from the Latin word struere, meaning “to build.”
To discipline and instruct our children, then, is to teach them and build them up, not just to tear them down when they inevitably do wrong. When we reprove a student for engaging in vice—for example, talking in class—we want not only for him to put off self-focus and disruptive conversation, but to put on the virtues of respect towards his teacher and peers and self-control in his own behavior. If all we accomplish is to change the student’s outward behavior, and we do not succeed in guiding his heart toward love for his neighbor, then we have fallen tragically short of our calling as teachers. As John Piper has said, “Become a kind of person. Don’t amass a long list [of rules].”
In the spirit of this pursuit, we started off the year by presenting our Upper School students (7th-12 grades) with a “Code of Decorum.” In it, we shared virtues that we see in Christ’s life and ways they can seek those same virtues in their own school activities. Here is an example:
As Christ is the Good Shepherd, we seek to lead our fellow students toward the goodness of Jesus.
1 Timothy 4:7-12
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
Set an example for your classmates by working hard, extending grace, and striving to build a culture that edifies everyone.
Be diligent to examine your actions in front of younger students. They think you’re really cool and will copy what you do (games you play, ways you interact with others, etc.). Set an example in godliness.
Be quick to apologize and forgive. Show humility by admitting when you’re wrong, apologizing to affected people, and forgiving others quickly.
In our efforts to put on Christ, we have to consider what His example can teach us. In the above excerpt, we see that He is a shepherd who guides us toward godliness, and in the same way, we desire for our students to lead their peers toward Christ by their own example. This involves admitting when we ourselves are wrong and forgiving others when they are wrong.
We ask our students to aim for a high standard of conduct because we believe we have received a high calling: to learn, or to teach, or to do whatever it is that we have been called to do this day and hour, in a way that models the works of Christ. For this task we need the grace of Christ Himself. The first step in putting on Christ is asking in humility for His help to live by His example. By His grace, may we prune our students and ourselves; but even more than pruning, may we cultivate Christlikeness.
Laurel McLaughlin
Upper School Teacher
