Are you a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal?

The title of today’s post has to do with how we participate in things such as Sunday School or Bible Studies.

I thought about posting this on my blog http://theadultsundayschool.blogspot.com/

however, I have dedicated that to my treatment of the weekly International Sunday School Lesson so I guess this is the place for today’s post.

I think it would be conservative of me to say that any study of God’s word is one to which I will bring a great deal of passion and anything that increases the knowledge shared will be greeted with great enthusiasm and anything that does the opposite will bother me greatly.

When I ask the question, “Are you a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal?” I am quoting from 1 Corinthians 13:1 obviously.  In that context Paul was saying if he was speaking “in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”  Meaning, if he were talking in tongues but was without love what he had to say would be as meaningless as a gong or a cymbal.

I don’t know about the without love part but I have been a gong, a cymbal, a whole orchestra before and I regret it deeply.  This has taken place in Sunday School and Bible Study situations due to my enthusiasm and passion and the fact that God was calling me to teach, but not all of us are and yet we still have an enthusiasm and a passion for God and His word..

Now I realize that some will be so “tone deaf” they will not stop to consider that I am talking about them so everyone of us has to ask if the question at the top of the page is applicable to them.

In Christian love someone should tell you the effect that you are having on your group but the chances are that no one will. 

The members of your group don’t want you to be hurt and they don’t want you to lose your enthusiasm.  No one wants to be the one that takes on this unpleasant task and no one wants you to not share sometimes or even worse stop coming completely and that is why I am asking you to ask the question of yourself.

Let’s look at a few important issues.  Are you the teacher or leader of the group?  If you are then you can and should lead the group and decide how much you have to say, steer how you want the discussion to go by asking the questions, taking the group to the areas of the Bible you need for your lesson etc. And not every class has to have a discussion.  If you are truly a teacher it isn’t only the pastor that can deliver a message. 

Now if you are not the teacher or leader let’s begin with you by saying you must respect that you are not, so let’s look at how you can do that and do it smartly.

If the teacher asks for someone to read and there is a pregnant pause where no one volunteers then occasionally you can be the one to start reading.  But it isn’t necessary for you to do it all the time.  Remember there is a teacher/leader and I bet they know you will do it and that you enjoy doing it, so they will choose you from time to time and never forget they can break that silence and read themselves!

You probably have an impressive inventory of memorized verses or knowledge of where to find the location in the Bible of important issues but you must resist the urge to share that like you are some kind of machine on automatic.

If the teacher asks the group a question and someone actually manages to answer before you, please don’t feel you need to flesh out the subject.  This almost always tends to put a damper on that person’s desire to contribute their two cents in the future, so let’s leave it up to the teacher as to when a subject needs to be filled in a little bit more thoroughly.

Romans 12:4-8 tells us that, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

When we forget this we are fighting what is naturally given to us by God not only with regard to our own calling but also when we do go against this we create disorder.

If you are a woman and you are not the teacher of the class or leader of the study and you still feel that there is some calling there for you to teach then I suggest you attempt to start your own women’s only group.  This may seem blunt, but it doesn’t pay to beat around the bush on these matters.  Most women will follow a man as leader naturally but within an existing class or group, few will welcome an incessant contribution by you and it will in fact derail the class leading to some particpants leaving the class.

I would be remiss if I did not revisit the subject of my own guilt in this matter. 

I am certain as certain can be that I interjected too often after the leader spoke or after someone shared their thoughts, and that I jumped at too many opportunities to read and quote the scripture.  I am just as certain that people didn’t say anything because of the reason’s I gave at the beginning and that a few didn’t continue attending because of me.

So there you have it, I am not just picking on women but all who take their love for God and his word and our need to put on the whole armament of God and use it in error.  We end up being gongs and cymbals.  In 1 Corinthians 13 where that comes from Paul is stating that without love that is what he in essence would be similar to and I think that applies here as well.

If we consider this with love you will see my point.  You can see how this would show more love to the teacher, more love to the group dynamic and more love to the timid.

And lest I forget, teachers, you have a position of authority, use it!

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.