13 September 2024

This week I have had the privilege of interviewing our candidates for the 2025 RCC Student Leadership team. It has been a wonderful reminder of how great our students are and how important they are to RCC as keepers of our culture that seeks to create a safe place so that everyone can belong and contribute courageously to their world.

As we sit in my office and chat about their passion for leadership, they share their dreams for making sure their peers feel safe or their voices can be heard. They speak of desires to create moments that allow everyone to contribute according to their passion, and of course they mention lowering canteen prices!

So, I thought for this week’s Tidings, rather than hear from me, I would let you read the devotion our Middle School Captain, Eli, shared with the Middle School this week at their assembly.

I pray you are encouraged by this like we were. I hope it gives you a glimpse of the safe hands we are in at RCC as our leaders pave the way for their peers to be all the person God created them to be… and maybe even be a little challenged yourself. 

Good Tidings!

Jonno

Good morning, Middle School…

What is the purpose of a ladder? We climb up it to get to the top, right?

The ladder I’m talking about this morning, this ladder is like our life and popularity. Often we find ourselves trying to climb this ladder. We try to be the most popular. Do you know what happens when we try to climb this ladder? We feel empty and worthless the second we do something wrong, or someone is better than us.

We’re going to do a scenario.

Let’s say I’m Eli and there’s three other boys in this story: Reuben, Joe and Jacob. These boys aren’t really my friends because they’re higher up than me on the ladder.

So, I start my day maybe at the bottom of the ladder. I don’t feel very secure in myself. My hair isn’t perfect, and everything isn’t going great.  I’m walking to put my bag down and I put out my hand to high five Jacob who is so cool and he high fives me.

I get a bit of a smile and I take a step up the ladder and you know what, I’m a bit more confident. I’m feeling good so I tell my friends about what just happened to make them jealous and use them to step up on them to get higher on the ladder.

So, I just used my friends to get higher on the ladder. That’s not great but at least I’m higher on the ladder, right?

Then I get my stuff and I walk to class but I don’t have any friends in that class so I try to sit with Joe who is at the top of the ladder and he says sure, so I sit with him and we get to talking and he tells me I should spread this rumour about Reuben and then me and Joe can be friends.

So, I do this and spread the rumour and Joe and I are now friends but I feel guilty for spreading this rumour. At least I’m on the top of the ladder, right? But to walk up that ladder I had to step on Reuben to get there.

Later on Reuben finds out I spread this rumour about him and when he comes to talk to me, Joe abandons me. Eventually everyone knows that I made up this lie and I fall down to the floor.

I’m not even on the ladder anymore. 

Throughout the day I’m searching to climb the ladder by stepping on others to get myself higher up. I end up feeling worthless and use other people and hurt them all just so I could be higher on the ladder.

Instead, what should I do? Instead, we should listen to 2 Corinthians 10:12:

For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

This is basically saying that we don’t need the ladder. The ladder is absolutely useless because we are all equals and shouldn’t be comparing ourselves to others and trying to get our self-worth from others. We should be finding our worth in God and knowing that God loves us and will be here for us. God knows how incredible you are and that you don’t need to try to climb that ladder.

The ladder is flat lying on the ground because we are all equals..