What is order? Though we hear this word, and most of us know what the lack of it means in our lives, sometimes it's just hard to nail down the definition. We may find it easier to define disorder.
We can go into our kitchens each and everyday, and there's no doubt we recognize when it is not in order. The counter tops are full of items from the cabinets, the sink is full of dishes, there are crumbs on the floor, and the table may never have been wiped off from the last meal. When I was a teen-ager, and the daughter of a working Mom, if I wanted her to hear a word about anything I had to say, or about going anywhere or buying something new, I knew the kitchen must be in order when she walked in from the carport.
If it was in disorder, or disarray, my mother would show by her countenance, that she was not a happy camper. That same woman, with furrowed brow and words of discontent and disappointment at the disorder, would have entered a spanking clean and shiny kitchen with a song in her heart, and a skip in her step. That's how disorder affected my mother.
I visited other friends' houses over the years, where there did not seem to be the same house rules. All households are not alike. Disorder in some homes is the order in the house. As a young mother, I was not as neat as mu mother, and not as messy as other mothers. My temperament is such that a little messiness doesn't bother me. If all are getting along, and I can walk through the house, I might not notice the clutter.
The Lord has been working on me over the years. I get more done when I have a schedule. If I begin my day with somewhat of a pattern, with things I do every day, and with a todo list, I might not get it all done. I get much more done than had I not had a plan. I've always heard that the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord, but I only recently realized that's the then part of the if/then clause. Proverbs says, Man makes a plan, and the Lord orders his steps. That means, it's on me first. I plan, and then God re-routes things to right them.
Most of my young adult life, I was a night person. Some nights after my children and husband were asleep, I would talk a long time to my sister on the phone. We talked about good things: children, husbands, events, and the Bible. (Today, I would be chatting, it's quieter and still friendly, like texting on the cell phone). We were president and vice-president of Mothers On the March, a pro-life/-pro-family organization during the late 70's and early 80's, lobbying the capitol and calling press conferences. Needless to say, the late nights made me tired, and from the moment I awoke, I was running after my day. I never could catch up!
Then, in 1989, I returned to college, got my degree in education, and in August of 1991, I began teaching Middle School -- 6th-grade to be specific. Where I had had so much time, to read, crochet, pray and study my Bible, talk on the phone, or study for my education classes, I now was placed in a routine of doing the same thing everyday. This was foreign to me, and needless to say I began to really pray about how to do this, and still maintain my place as wife, mom, keeper of my house (which I liked), and have time to do what I enjoyed. Having a teammate at school, and making friends with women doing this balancing act, I began with my crashcourse in time management.
Also, I now had my own money, so to speak. Other than selling homemade candy or cookies at Christmas, or selling tupperware for two years, or working for a chiropractor for awhile, I had been a homemaker for 21 years. The working woman/wife was new for me, and I wasn't very good at it to begin with. My prayer life was waning, my mothering was also, and I was snapping at my husband because I was tired. There was no doubt about it, I needed order in all this confusion of roles.
At first when I prayed, it was like Heaven was made of brass, and my prayers were not being heard. I shared with my mother, and she asked, Have you prayed about it? I knew that it was sort of hit or miss praying as I go, but I wasn't finding time to really pray. Then Mama shared with me that the same had happened to her when she went back to work, and she began rising earlier, in order to have her quiet time.
I battled this to start with just because I was a fowl of a different nature than Mama. I was a night owl, not an early bird, and by all that I had read you are either one or the other, and there's no changing it. Well, a lot those people knew. As the need got heavier, I determined to discipline myself to wake up earlier. If I could study when I was 39-41 years old, making Magma Cum Laude, while receiving my bachelor degree in education, I could indeed rise earlier. It took awhile before I realized what had happened. With the same determination, I began rising at 5:00am. To this day, I arise around the same time. I am an early bird. Catching the worm is not my quest, but spending my time praying the Word is.
After teaching awhile, and watching my administrator lead a meeting, I began learning much about order. I had already learned classroom management, so I did fine in the classroom. It was with the adults, that things could be testy. I found that while some teachers were very quiet and orderly, listening to their leader, others were very disorderly, disrespectful, and just plain unruly. More often than not, it was younger teachers, grading papers, talking and laughing, smacking gum, and even punching each other playfully. I found myself moving closer to the front, in order not to be distracted. I was not considered much fun.
Entering the room with my voice, had been a part of my temperament. Talking to my neighbor while the teacher was talking to the class in Sunday School had been my habit. I began to hear that little voice inside me saying, Did you call this meeting? Have I given you the authority to speak today? Of course, my answer was, No.
I guess I would have to call this my crossing over or my passage to the wise/mature stage. It had been many years since I realized it was not all about me. I now knew that it was about Him and others. I didn't have to compete to be heard. I didn't have to be right all the time.
1 Corinthians 14 says the Lord is not the author of confusion. It also says, Let everything be done decently and in order. Order means regular arrangement or fixed. It also means a condition in which freedom from disorder or disruption is maintained through respect for established authority.
I recognized it in my classroom. I was the authority, given the right to teach in my job description. Students had the right to learn. Therefore, disruption and distraction were not allowed in my classroom. It was my responsibility to maintain order. Students refusing correction or discipline received demerits, silent lunch, etc.
When I recognized this same authority as an adult, both at school, church, or any place where we gathered for a purpose, I moved from one level to the next in understanding. I recognized the leader, who was given the authority for a given time, and I submitted to that leader.
Picture the conductor when he/she steps in front of the orchestra or symphony. All sit up and look only at that leader. To do otherwise, is to be left behind when the music starts, or to be caught off guard -- to blurt out or not be in harmony. Choir directors direct the choir. Only when all are alert and start and end on time, and do not hold notes too long or too short, only when practiced to perfection, does that choir or orchestra receive the standing ovation.
Only good followers become good leaders. The disciples were students following the Christ. The Apostles were the students that became teachers. You must follow the leader in order to lead. Many times people want to lead when it's not their time. They must wait their turn to lead; they must first follow the leader.
Good daughters become good mothers. Good sons become good fathers. Good students become good teachers. You must be an apprentice to ever be the master. Such is the law of order. When we come into a place, unless we are given the authority by the leader, we should not speak or pray louder than the leader. It does indeed cause disruption and distraction. Only the leader knows the purpose of the meeting, and it is the leader's responsibility from beginning to end.
Many children are not being trained to follow the leader. They speak when it is not their turn. They are not listening to the voice of the leader. Young parents of today need to practice not just telling their children to follow their direction, but making their children follow their direction. It is up to the parent to begin this training, and then children will be successful with their teachers, and by following the leader, they will be good leaders.
Let's commit ourselves to follow the leader -- instruction and rules wherever we are -- and to set that example before our children. Let's then require our children to follow that path, training them in the way they should go.
