Winter Book Club

Chapter 8: Spiritual Elevation and Degradation 

‘There is a hole, an emptiness in us all, that we strive to fill. If it doesn’t get filled with something noble and elevated, modern society will quickly pump it full of garbage. This has been true since the beginning of the age of mass media, but the garbage pump got 100 times more powerful in the 2010s.’ (p.216)

I think it is worthwhile starting this chapter by looking at ourselves. How many of us are comfortable with stillness and silence? When was the last time many of us took time out to breathe and to pay attention to the environment around us.

I firmly believe there is a God-shaped hole in all of us. As adults, we have usually had enough experience of watching others trying to fill that hole with wealth, achievement, pleasure or other distractions. Maybe we can recognise this in ourselves as well?

I feel like there are times when I receive the same message from lots of different sources. Recently, sources I have been reading, or hearing have emphasised the importance of intentionally making space for God, to calm my ‘jumping monkey’, to be willing to be still and focus on the experience of being with God. This chapter was another way of reinforcing that message for me.

In the age of distraction, it is not just out kids who are at risk of filling their heads, hearts and time with garbage. It is hard for us to lead our children in the way we want them to go when we are not practicing the same things in our own lives.

Recently, I lost a former colleague, a teacher who I held in the highest regard. Being in her class was to watch an expert craftsperson. There was nowhere to hide. Everyone was on notice that they could be asked a question at any time. Some of these were knowledge recall but there was also a fair number that would require some mental heavy lifting. There were often subsequent questions that would probe more deeply. Answering with ‘I don’t know’ wouldn’t cut it because there would come a series of other questions that would get the student started.

What I loved about Hilary was the way she elevated the minds and hearts of students to worlds, ideas and connections that they knew nothing about. She created a sense of curiosity and wonder in every student she taught. While phones can give us access to all sorts of information and ideas, creativity and critical thinking, ethical reasoning and interpersonal understanding are not passive activities. That was what Hilary gave her students and it is the way in which I hope we, as a school community, can enrich our students.

Colossians 3:1-4 

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your  life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 

Jodie Bennett

Principal