March 11, 2009
-
Red Box of Rubbish
When I was younger, I somehow acquired a red box (from I don't remember where) which I designated as the keeper for my awards. Over the years, I collected all my honor roll awards, perfect attendance awards, good citizenship awards, awards for writing contests, and various certificates for high achievements and placed it in the box. It was a treasure trove of hard-earned 'striving' and its subsequent recognition.
One Sunday morning many years ago, as I was teaching Philippians 3 to a class of high school students, I brought the red box to class. In demonstrating that I really do "consider everything a loss (worthless, rubbish) compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things", I took out a handful of the awards, ripped them up and tossed them on the floor. I don't know if the act brought about its intended effect (or if it was just overly-dramatic) for the students, but it had its impact on me. Who knew better than I did what value was placed on those silly pieces of paper? Before I was a Christian, all my life was bent on earning respect and recognition from people; all my worth was based on how well I could perform. Being received by Christ meant that I had all the worth in the world and none of those things mattered one tiny bit.
As I was praying today that God would remind me of how surpassingly great He is compared to everything else in this world, He brought that Sunday school moment to mind. At that time, I didn't think it was anything more than another one of my teaching illustrations. But looking back, I realize the symbolic nature of the moment. In destroying those awards, I had cut myself loose from the strings of this world which had me bound for so long. It was freeing. And to this day, I don't have any idea at all what happened to that little red box or the rest of its contents.
Comments (6)
That is awesome, Mary Ann. I have a file folder in my drawer, and I never look at it. I just dug it out after reading your post. I actually have my college degree in with my childhood gymnastics awards, a certificate of adoption for my Cabbage Patch Kid, an award I got for an essay I wrote in fifth grade... really random stuff.
I am thinking that for both of us, we did not have the kind of parents who framed our awards and put them on the wall for all to see. So if we are proud of ourselves and base our identity on our accomplishments and man's applause, it's a secret idol, kept in a box/file folder.
that's SO shocking that you ripped them up like that! but what a way to put all that aside and put God first above everything.
Funny, just the other day I put my MA with my BA and my teaching credential in a box in the garage and thought about how ironic it was...I don't think it's a good idea to rip those particular papers up, but I did think fleetingly about writing a statement about the irony of all that "hard work for paper" on facebook, just didn't have time, energy or drive to even mention it. My "awards folder" is somewhere, maybe it met your red box
.
@licoreen - You hit it right on the money. So true. My parents never framed my awards and put them up. I guess it really did become a secret idol.
@strummingsam - I never told you this story????
@kimlyuen - Trying to imagine your awards folder and my red box 'meeting' somewhere is pretty amusing.
I love anthropomorphism.
Yeah, I wouldn't tear up my MA or BA either.
You might need that for something in the future. 
Comments are closed.