Tough love

"My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives. He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." ~Hebrews 12:5-6, 10-11

Receiving a tearful hug from my students.

These are 36 of my favorite students - the entire "Our Lady of Fatima" 4th year class section - who came to our house escorted by their principal to beg forgiveness for having cheated on their exams. There is, as our priest Fr. Joe explains it, a "culture of cheating" here in the Philippines at every academic level, with which I am now very familiar after one year of teaching in a high school. (I do not say this to condemn or accuse, but rather from my and others' experiences.) Cheating is expected and oftentimes openly permitted by instructors.

In previous lessons on the Ten Commandments, I explained to my students that cheating is both stealing and lying (commandments #7 and 8). It would be far easier for me to simply adopt the cultural norm and permit their habit of cheating to continue, but the Lord disciplines him whom He loves, and I love my students too much to allow them to remain in sin. What a powerful experience it was for this class to voice their sincerest apologies, and how happy I was to have the chance to forgive them and affirm them for their desire to change.

I pray that even my small witness will have a long-lasting impact on these students and that the sometimes painful process of disciplining those whom I love might someday yield in them the peaceful fruit of righteousness.