A very close relative of mine suffered a setback a few years ago. He needed a website to be able to conduct his business. And that was before everything went online and you had freelance builders. You could say he was ahead of his time and there is nothing wrong with that. The website builder did not deliver, forcing my relative to learn how to code and build a website. I can say that that aspect of his life, which he learned under duress, is the reason for his subsequent flying success. That slow and unresponsive website builder turned out to be an oppressor teacher.
| Thank you to those who read the last post carefully enough to observe its mistakes. Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days, not forty years as we wrote. Keep the comments (and corrections coming). |
Note that this teacher is different from the oppressive teacher. The teacher who oppresses sets out to teach and train, but he does that in a high-handed manner. He is an oppressive teacher but this oppressor teacher is a lying, cheating lazy operative. With all those problems, he ends up teaching you a valuable lesson. As he blew past deadline after deadline, this website builder did not realize he was helping his client.
By failing to deliver and making his client’s life miserable, the website builder behaved like an oppressor. That is what oppressors do. And that situation is precisely what forced my relative to start learning how to build a website. Another way of saying that is that necessity is the mother of invention.
The Oppressor Teacher Helps His Client
The client is not the teacher’s student, just a client. You could be a doctor’s patient, or a lawyer’s client but will not consider yourself a student. This oppressor did not start as your teacher. You have a different relationship with him; he contracted with you to provide a service. It could be helping to build a house for you, plowing your farm, fixing your makeup, or whatever. As he oppresses you by failing to meet his side of the bargain, he becomes an oppressor teacher.
Please do not waste your time and emotions railing at him. He is doing you a favor. Of course, you may fail to see the favor in his failure to deliver unless you have been with us on this positive problem journey. It is a journey where we learn to consider those situations that appear negative. As we look at them from God’s perspective, we begin to see the positive aspects of our situation. Before too long, we welcome them.
Here is how the Bible describes what you become at that stage. “You (God) will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in You.” Are we saying having God’s perspective in all situations is easy? Not at all, but it is possible with practice. If you need practice, refer to past posts on this topic.
Is someone oppressing you?
Allow me to quote Jesus here, even though it is a struggle even for the best of us. Pray for them. That is what Jesus said, not my testimony. But I believe that God will help us to obey Him completely. Because when our obedience is complete, God Himself punishes our enemies. 2 Corinthians 10.6 says “God being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” The word fulfilled in that verse is another way of saying complete. And Jesus says we should pray for those who despitefully use us.
All oppressor teachers deserve our prayers. That way, God has a chance to touch and change them. I am not sure my relative prayed for his oppressor but that website builder has been transformed. Perhaps somebody prayed for him. Is someone gaslighting you? Pray for them. Do you have a boss who gives credit to others but never to you? Pray for him or her so that you can live a quiet and peaceable life in that job. God can, and usually does, move you to a higher post as you faithfully obey.
In any case, oppressor teachers deserve our gratitude. I am not suggesting you go up to them and thank them. No, but you can thank God for them. Without being aware, they are doing you a godly favor.
Maranatha!
