Responsibility

by Adam Kronberger / Superintendent

A few days ago, my wife referenced an upcoming weather forecast that we should be concerned about for its wintry impact. As I consider myself an amateur meteorologist, I was quick to correct her and let her know that everything was going to be fine according to my research. She mentioned her concerns at various times throughout the day, and I verbally or just mentally corrected her for her error. After another comment, I made her show me the app she was using for her weather forecast. Sure enough, it had wintry mix in the forecast. How could that be? All of my research and instinctive abilities confirmed the weather was going to be mild. I rushed to my phone to check my app and somehow set things straight. As I opened the app and scanned the forecast, my eyes shifted to the top of the screen and read “Lincoln City”. For days I had been getting my information for another city. My wife had been right all along, and I had been treating her with an attitude of doubt and disbelief. Everything in my being wanted to somehow still prove I was right, as it is never fun to be wrong. Finally, I put a smile on my face and surrendered victory to my wife and her forecast and admitted I was wrong. I felt terrible. 

Admitting wrong is never an easy thing to accomplish. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, they were quick to make excuses, blaming each other and even blaming God. We like to be right. We even like to believe that we are generally good people. But as a result of the fall in the garden, we are all born with a bent towards sin. We are powerless to always be right. Failure will constantly follow us. One piece of marital advice I always try to remember is that in arguments with my wife, I generally am wrong 50% of the time. Understanding our wrongness is so vital for us as adults and for our children.

If there is nothing wrong with us, then there is no need for Jesus. Our children must understand their wrongness, otherwise the need and attraction of Jesus’ complete work on the cross is minimized. Understanding this principle also radically changes how we parent our children toward rightness. It changes our own efforts toward rightness. Jesus came to this earth because the laws of the Old Covenant were unable to bring people into rightness. Yet we oftentimes rely on rules as the primary method to bring about transformation. Yet rules on their own are powerless. The power comes from the grace of Jesus Christ. His grace first confirms our old identity of being powerless to change on our own. His grace also provides the power to be changed as our hearts are renewed.

This month the school will focus on the character trait of responsibility. Students will focus on giving your best, keeping promises, not making excuses, and making things right when they do wrong. Rules and procedures may be helpful at time to help understand the heart is the problem. But only the grace of Jesus Christ provides the solution, which also lives in the heart.  Just don’t ask me about the weather...
 
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– Adam Kronberger / Superintendent