USING THE STORY OF JOB

TEACHING JUNIORS ABOUT LOSS AND SUFFERING
by Kevin Patrick Dillon, M.A.R.

Because Juniors begin to internalize the reality of death and suffering during this period of their lives, teachers should provide them with the biblical principles found in the biblical story of Job to give them proper direction.

In teaching Juniors, I have found that their experiences range from accidentally swallowing a magnetized marble and being x-rayed in the emergency room, to having a parent jailed for drug involvement, to living in difficult financial conditions. Juniors need guidelines to assist them in making solid and wise choices.

The best way to reach Juniors is to become a part of their circle of activity. That means more than just seeing them in the classroom once a week. It means spending time with them. By that, I mean visiting in their homes, taking them shopping, and becoming a role model for them. My junior students have gone with me to decent movies, played with me on playgrounds, and walked with me on nature trails. They have accompanied me on visitations, helped change the marquee in front of our building, and helped with painting and landscaping work. Under my supervision, we have worked on their school projects (such as building model volcanoes or igloos). I have met their relatives and friends, and they still like me–even though I have been honest with them that I do not like their pets!

Reaching Juniors means that you know whether they like pretzels and what their friends at school are doing. It means that they feel comfortable enough with you to share with you a current problem or to ask you a question.

The New Living Bible Lessons Junior 6 Fall Quarter is a block of study entitled “Patience, Prayer, and Proverbs.” The first lesson (Job: God’s Good Servant) equips them with a classic, extreme example of how rough life can be. It shows them how happiness can be found in being faithful to God, even though one does not understand all the elements in the rationale for suffering. It gives them a real biblical hero (of much more practical value than the fantasy super hero we viewed together at the theater) with whom to identify. Use the attendance chart in the accompanying visual packet to gauge their faithfulness, and reward it. Emphasize Hebrews 10:25 and the necessity of regular edification and encouragement in order to help Juniors maintain a faithful life. Let them know that attendance is especially important to help other students in the class develop better coping skills.

The visual aid showing Job’s wealth can jump-start a meaningful discussion when you ask the Junior students what modern concepts of wealth and prosperity might be. Talking about the devastations of Tsunami, Katrina, and 9/11 will help them identify with suffering on a global or national level. Eliciting experiences of severe injury or death in their own families will bring the reality of suffering home for them.

To make the lesson on Job come alive, review the poster showing Job seated in ashes, scraping off his boils with a broken piece of pottery. At just the right moment, open the door to your classroom to reveal a visitor–“Job.” Ask an elder or deacon in your congregation to don a dilapidated terry cloth bathrobe and sandals. Glue torn bits of an ugly brown sponge to stickers. Ahead of time, have “Job” apply the stickers (“boils”) all over his face, arms, and legs. When he enters the room, make sure he moans, groans, and appears generally miserable, but have him assure your class that he still trusts in God–no matter what. He can exit the room at that point, and you can further your discussion about his suffering and loss. Toward the end of the session (after “Job” has removed his “boils”), he can return in a bright new robe with a cheerful and exuberant attitude, thanking God for his new-found wealth and blessings. This impression will not soon fade!

The most important thing to do now is to have the students relate the principles of Job’s faithfulness in suffering in such a way that they can internalize them for practice in a problem they might face. Ask a Junior how he could respond like Job if a flood should sweep away his home or if he should suffer an accident and lose a leg. He will get the point! The story of Job, as taught in New Living Bible Lessons, will aid you in accomplishing this aim.