From the Mountains to the Valleys - What Goes Up, Must Come Down

“…the real fight only begins when you’re away from the camp. Never relax so long as you’re in enemy territory. Never get drunk with freedom…for you never know who is lying in the bushes.”

This quote derives from The Auschwitz Escape, a historical fiction book by Joel C. Rosenberg about the courageous escape of two prisoners from the Auschwitz Concentration Camp* during World War II.

*To be abundantly clear up front, I am not comparing my own first-world difficulties to the horrors and atrocities a prisoner of Auschwitz experienced for years of their life. I am comparing my spiritual journey and the experiences that come with it to any camp that isolates you from the real world so you can gain experience in a particular area of your life that the camp provides, promotes, or dictates. It is purely coincidental that the quote comes from a book about the Holocaust.

One of the common phrases I heard in church circles growing up, especially as summer youth group trips wrapped up and we were a short three weeks away from the start of another school year, was “the spiritual high won’t last forever”, “you will eventually come down from the mountaintop and back to reality,” or “the hard part is not being on the spiritual high, but what you do when you get back to the routine.”

It wasn’t just a warning to all of us young Christians trying to understand our newfound faith or rediscover it in new ways, but foreshadowing about the difficulties to come. I still remember those pep talks, with 72 of preteens and young adults crammed in one room whose layout more closely resembled a cheap motel’s Continental Breakfast space than a place to gather large groups. The theme of the meeting was designed for worship, prayer, and reflection, but most of the conversation stemmed around what to expect after this “mountaintop high” ends and we’re faced with secular reality again.

For the entirety of these summer youth conferences, I recall how invincible I felt because of the loads of inspiration I gobbled up like a starving child. There was no way I would fall victim to my old habits, no way, and most importantly, nothing would stand between my strengthened relationship with God. How could I? I am a new creation, and the emotions I felt on these trips were evidence that no obstacle Satan threw my way would cause me to crumble! I repented, I prayed harder than I’ve ever prayed before, and I memorized worship songs declaring my commitment to the Lord while filling my notebook with sermon notes from Francis Chan, so no worldly desire was strong enough to overcome my bond with Jesus after this. On top of all of this, I had a testimony ready to share with my church upon, my return from traveling out of state. Boy, was I naïve, even if the experiences I had were authentic.

Don’t get me wrong, all of the spiritual things I did on these trips did strengthen me spiritually and did prepare me for the “valleys” of life, but it still didn’t adequately address the pressing question: “What do we do after our supernatural experience is over and we’re thrown back into the world full of people who don’t share the same revelations you did?” When you go on these youth trips, you’re likely one of the 95% of the group who shares the same core thoughts about God. When you reenter society, you become the minority who believes Christ is your Savior and best friend. Will the foundation from the youth conference inspiration I collected in my heart and mind be strong enough for the primetime fight I would endure in the world's boxing ring?

For me personally, these youth group experiences on the mountaintop with God not only gave me steady doses of healthy community and shed more light on who the Creator is, but it affirmed that my choice to pursue Him back was the best choice I ever made in this life. They affirmed me enough to go into the fight outside of the camp with more resources, relationships with other believers, and a strengthened resolve to follow Christ faithfully. So, yes, I would say I did feel strongly that the mountaintop experiences did help me face the giants of the secular world. However, I couldn't face them alone.

With the right people in place, found within these camp experiences, life outside of the four-walls of camp didn't feel like a nightmare or a path to inevitable spiritual destruction because the church community I found myself would enter that same real world as me. However, if I didn't fill my days outside of the camp with accountability and those who pour into my spiritual wellbeing, I would likely be swallowed up by how the world defines God, not how the Word defines Him.

While danger is found hiding in the thick brush waiting to pounce on you, discipleship through accountability is walking through it with you, chopping through the brush with a machete to expose the enemy who is lying there. The machete is the Word of God, what He says about you, and how to respond to anything that does not sound like the truth, and discipleship is the community you're a part of holding that machete. It takes discipline, training, and consistent loyalty to seeking wisdom in the midst of the distractions and lies of the world.

• You don't need God.
• There is no way God exists with all of this evil in the world.
• If God does exist, he's not a good God.
• Just do you. God will only restrict you from doing what you want.
• Why should you follow a God who hurts you? 
• What's the point in being a Christian when you're doing just fine without him?
• You'll be happier doing what you want instead of following God and all of his rules

Some of these lies come from influences around you, and some of them occur in your mind when your experiences with the world don't align with the God you thought you believed in. Either way, without the community we are told to "spur on with love and good deeds, not giving up meeting [with]...but encouraging one another" (Hebrews 10:24-25), we will likely be persuaded by the darkness of the world and taken captive by it - by those lying in the bushes.

When I was a college student attending a university of less than 3,000 students and preparing for my final years of education before embarking on my new career as a classroom teacher, a common phrase I overheard was, “There is no better preparation for teaching than the experience itself.” In other words, to be a good teacher, you have to embrace the challenge of being the teacher in the classroom first. Despite having amazing, approachable professors who knew the education field well and cared, with deep conviction, about my present wellbeing and future success as a teacher,  spending all of my time listening to their lectures, reading the assigned textbooks, taking quality notes, and even observing other elementary school teachers in their classroom were not going to give me the right kind of experience I needed than to call the classroom my own and run it the way I believe it needs to be run.  I would never know what I was capable of if I got my degree in Elementary Education just to shelf it for the rest of my life without trying on the pants to see if they fit.

We can have powerful, supernatural experiences with God on the mountaintop, surrounded by other believers who encourage you in those experiences, and I would encourage that for anyone. You can never have too many godly mountaintop experiences, but you won't know where your faith stands until you step foot outside of the camp and into the world around you. Oswald Chambers once wrote, "We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life- those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength." 

Throughout the years, I have personally enjoyed seeing victory over these enemies because I have engaged godly council not just when I’m on the mountaintop high, but when I’m in the valley, searching for answers that are already in front of me. In the book of James, we are warned that a man who does not do what the Word says is like a man who looks in the mirror but forget what he looks like when he leaves; a part from the Word, we lose our identity in the things the world tries to satisfy us with. Without discipleship in the valley, we are more likely to be that man who forgets his identity. We spend so much time reveling in our freedom that we lose focus of the fact we’re still in enemy territory - in the valley; the valley requires you to be armed with accountability and the Word of God; without it, it’ll swallow you whole. 

When we're on the mountain, we must consider why we're there: to grab onto the inspiration that comes from the Lord in order to take it to the valley when we or our community needs it. To relax in enemy territory means to forget what the mountaintop is for and why the valley exists. Though there is nothing wrong in anticipating the mountaintop, the test comes when we enter the valley after the mountaintop experience has concluded.

We should come down from that mountain with inspiration and use it in the valley to prove our stamina and strength. But we need discipleship and accountability to know when and how to use it in the darkest of times. We can be a light in a dark world that needs Jesus by how we approach both the valley and the mountain with purpose, conviction, and the community that reminds us of our identity and the inspiration we found in Christ.

What will you do with the mountaintop experience? 

Which Kronk will you Listen to?

If you've never seen Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, you're missing out. Regardless, there is a scene in the comedy where the antagonist's quirky and brawny henchman, Kronk, is instructed to dispose of the emperor's body when he turned into a llama instead of dead. Kronk's plan is to throw the emperor into a burlap sack, tie it, and toss the unconscious llama into a waterfall with the hopes that it kills him or somehow makes him disappear. 

Don't worry, it's an animated film, so it's not as violent as you think.

Before Kronk follows through with his plan, a devil Kronk appears on his left shoulder and an angel Kronk appears on his right moments later. I won't spoil the rest of it, but Kronk does eventually listen to one of the celestial shoulder beings and it unravels a string of hilarious moments - even for adults -  throughout the film.

I have been teaching at the same charter school in the same grade level for over 10 years now, and one of the rewards that comes with longevity is that people, namely students, will approach me with eagerness and energy proclaiming how excited they are to be in my class one day...

...four years from now. 

The younger the child, the more passionate they are about their bold prediction of one day being a member of my classroom. Ninety percent of the time, I don't know their name and have never seen them before, even when they tell me their sister's friend's younger brother was in my class seven years ago. You're probably thinking, That math doesn't even make sense. The worse part is when they give you that look like you should know them by name because you taught their sister's friend's younger brother. 

In reality, I always look forward to these interactions because it reminds me of the small joys that come with sticking it out in one career field in one location. After all, who doesn't like to create a name for themselves and leave a lasting legacy that is positive and powerful? Every brief interaction with the little ones is the angel Kronk on my shoulder reminding me that these conversations throughout the school day are checkpoints along the hike of life that remind me I am headed in the right direction. Whenever I face any level of difficulty during the workday, I often cling to them like rations on a battlefield because they keep me focused on why God put me in this position.

Then there is the devil Kronk.

The devil Kronk reminds me how strict, disorganized, unqualified, and clumsy I am, which means these youngsters who claim they'll be in my class one day don't have enough information to know whether they'll succeed in my classroom. Worse, they probably won't like me because I'll find a way to mess up their only 5th grade experience.

I have a running joke with myself that devil Kronk likely loves more than the angel Kronk on the other side:

"Those who enter my class love me. Once they leave my class, they warn others about me." 

The worse part about this joke is there is deep level of truth behind it, though it is not the entire truth. However, when I only focus on the students who defined their 5th grade teacher as strict and difficult, I convince myself there is nothing to be proud of. There goes my legacy, and even if there is one, it's the version where I'm known as the horrible teacher who should be surprised he even has a job in education still. The devil Kronk can do handstands and make me laugh with his subtle jokes, but if I pay too much attention to him, I am doomed because my legacy becomes a believed lie that I allow to go straight down the waterfall with the llama.

Just like me, Paul had his own devil Kronk and angel Kronk. The super apostles (2 Corinthians 11) were his devil Kronks. They were false teachers who appeared to be superior to Paul by manner and authority. Paul was weak in appearance, unsightly, and those he came in contact with held the strong opinion that he should stick to letter writing over public speaking (see 2 Corinthians 10:9-10). Comparitively, Paul had no chance at persuading people by appearance - the good-looking super apostles had him beat by a mile. 

However, where Paul was weak physically and in appearance, he made up for with sound mind, unwavering dedication to his purpose, and self-discipline in his approach to sharing and spreading the Gospel  his mission was led by God and his commitment to what the angel Kronk told him.

When Paul addressed the church in Corinth, he repeatedly modeled how to view your weaknesses as a reflection of Christ's power. 

"Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Paul saw whatever inward or outward sign of weakness as another reason to glorify God because His power and grace would sustain him through all hardship. 

Whether I take the good opinions and criticisms about my teaching with a grain of salt or not, if I put my career in the hands of the Father rather than in my appearance like the super apostles did, I will learn to take the feedback through the lens of Christ and the Holy Spirit (the angel Kronk) in me. 

Sure, the devil Kronk might still exist in my mind, but the idea of him dictating my life sounds more and more laughable by the minute when I have a living, active God who is not only in  my corner, but is worthy of my praise whether I am weak or strong. 

Before Kronk makes his decision to let the sack go down the waterfall or not, the devil Kronk confidently gives the angel Kronk and Kronk three reasons they should listen to his ideas:

Devil Kronk: "Number one - look at that guy! He's got that sissy stringy music thing!"

Angel Kronk (agitated): "We've been through this. It's a harp, and you know it."

Devil Kronk: "Reason number two. Look what I can do."

Devil Kronk then proceeds to do a handstand, and half way through his performance, lifts one hand as a show of strength and skill.

Kronk (confused): What does that have to do with anything?

Whether I am too strict or the greatest teacher of all time. Ultimately, if pleasing God is my end goal, it is Christ in me that will be my positive, powerful legacy.

In light of Christ in me, all Satan can do is a handstand, while the Holy Spirit can help me make decisions that are in alignment with Christ and his will for me.

What the students see when they want me as their teacher is Christ in me, and when I fully embrace the power of the Holy Spirit in my heart and mind, it makes Satan's handstands more comical than intimidating. My dad's version of the devil Kronk is "A lion without teeth." His version is probably more accurate than a miniature Kronk with a mouse voice, devils horns, a trident, and a red wet suit. Regardless, who we listen to will determine how we carry out God's will for our lives.

When Paul was a changed man through God's intervention, he did not turn back - he listened to the angel Kronk voice in him and pressed onward toward the goal to spread the Gospel to as many nations and churches as he could. He understood who lived in him, which carried far more weight than appearing wealthy, knowledgeable, and powerful like the super apostles did.

"I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

- Paul, from Galatians 2:20

Paul knows what it's like to listen to both the angel Kronk and the devil Kronk; he persecuted Christians before he became the Paul we know today. 

God loves to remind me who I am in him, and when students approach me with eagerness and excitement - and a hint of naivety - exclaiming their prediction about being in my future class, it reminds me of the positive, powerful legacy I am creating with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Whether he's a toothless lion or an animated devil in red spandex, our free will and the advocate we are promised in the Holy Spirit gives us the power to not listen to him.

Even if the Holy Spirit is a robed angel with a sissy stringy music thing.

Andy, the Samaritan, and the Messiah

The Story:

Once upon a time, there was a runaway slave who is running through the woods to complete his escape plan. He approaches a lion that stops him in his tracks, for this beast is injured. If not for a large thorn, the lion would be freely roaming the woods as he usually does on a normal day. Unfortunately, the thorn is the reason he is down for the count, a victim of the thorn whose sharp, pointy edge has debilitated the king of the forest and paralyzed him from striking fear in his prey. Though it does not explicitly say, it is likely the injury from the thorn has simultaneously hurt the lion and allowed the slave to flee from his owner unharmed.

But something interesting happens. The runaway slave, whose name is Androcles, like most adventure movies, sees his exit, the hurting lion, then his exit, and quickly weighs the pros and cons in his head. This is also probably the point where, if this story were a show airing on FOX, it would shoot to a commercial, causing the entire room of viewers to wait impatiently for the decision the protagonist (or antagonist) will make.

Instead of making his in and out of the woods unharmed - after all, what good is a lion if his paw is bloodied from a sharp thorn? - the slave stoops down to aid the lion by pulling the thorn out of his paw and nursing him back to health. The lion, out of a show of gratitude, takes the slave to his cave, provides him with meat he collects from the forest, and essentially keeps him safe from the rest of the world. Unfortunately, their freedom comes to and end shortly after, because both are found by the emperor of Rome and separated for some time before being taken into the arena to be seen as a public spectacle in a gladiator fight.

When the time comes for slave and lion to perform in this dual, the ravenous lion is let out of the cage to face the man and bounds with great speed in an effort to make the slave his food.

Right before pouncing, the lion recognizes the man and instead of eating him whole, he stops and begins licking him as a sign of friendship and affection. The emperor is so thrown off by this display of love, loyalty, and devotion, he pardons both the slave and the lion and thus declaring them officially free. No longer is the slave considered "runaway" free but free "by law," so he no longer has to live in fear of being caught again.

Kindness is the Theme of Life:

I love using this story to teach the components of literature to my students because, at fifth grade, students are ruthlessly rude and disrespectful to one another, break hearts in the name of "self-defense", speak sarcastically to one another, and develop proficiency at navigating - and hiding behind - the digital codes of social media. They become bullies in their own right. If you want evidence, eavesdrop into a conversation and you'll quickly find out how unforgiving the battleground of an adolescent can be -- and it's not just what they speak with their mouths, it's also what they don't say and their lack of manners that can often be appalling to anyone who knows anything about common courtesy. 

With this short story, I can teach elements of fictional literature and model how we should treat each other all in one lesson. Androcles and the Lion is Aesop's gift to all teachers. Androcles & the Lion demonstrates, in a slightly exaggerated way, the good that can come from being a Good Samaritan even when no one asked you, or paid you, to play that role. 

Some would call it Karma, some would call it God protecting those choose to be like Jesus, and some might label it "being the good the world needs." Regardless of what my takeaways from this story are, it's an easy one to teach my 5th graders because kindness is powerful no matter what religion you believe, time period you live in, or society you are part of, kindness does a whole lot of good for any community. Personally, I feel kids at this age get lost navigating through what they want versus what they experience the world giving them on a daily basis. They desperately crave to fit in, be liked, and feel understood. If they don't, they resort to versions of themselves they would never want to be friends with if they saw themselves behaving the way they do. Kids at this age, and maybe you and I from time to time, need a little bit of Andy and The Lion to teach us a few lessons or two about kindness.

 Everything to Gain, Everything to Lose 

As a teacher educating 10-year-olds on the theme of this story, I always hear the tip-of-the-iceberg or Mariana Trench responses to "What is Aesop's moral of this story?" Tip-of-the-iceberg is the simple reply: "Kill them with kindness!" or "Kindness is cool." 

I want to go deeper than that. Mariana Trench deep.

In other words, what is the cost of kindness? What does "even when it's hard" look like?

Students are smart to add, "Even when it's hard," because there is plenty of text evidence to connect to the claim. We call that "Supporting Details." But where is the evidence in their own life when kindness is difficult? Most kids can tell you how to be kind, define kind, and wear Old Navy shirts with "Choose Kindness" embroidered across the front of it. We're good at preaching kindness, but what do we do when an injured lion steps in front of your agenda?

Think about it like this: the moment the Lion strikes the thorn, the roles are reversed. The slave has power because of the freedom he experiences while on the run - no one to depend on anymore. The Lion is now dependent on the removal of the thorn to regain his reputation as king of the jungle. In a world where everyone and everything operates under their identity, the slave is weak and the lion is strong. Additionally, if this lion really is the King of the jungle, a pesky thorn should have nothing on him. This thorn is a mere dust mite compared to the lion's sheer strength and will power. Right? Not only does the lion represent an obstacle standing between the slave and his freedom, he's also dealing with an animal that could destroy you from limb to limb because he has a big appetite. I don't know if you've heard, but it is quite difficult to reason with a hungry lion. They typically don't see a human to befriend, but meat to devour and consume. Once the thorn is gone, so is Androcles. Gone to be with the inside of the the lion's stomach. 

When Androcles experiences a moment of hesitation, if there is one, upon hearing the cries of the injured lion, he has everything to gain upon ignoring those cries. On the flipside, he has everything to lose if he assists the lion through his predicament: Androcles could get tricked by this beast in the forest and get eaten alive or the slave master could catch up to him and send him back with a severe punishment awaiting him. Best case scenario, it stalls his perfect escape from slave life - he's almost to the finish line where freedom is waiting to join him. Worse case scenario, his one shot at escaping the hands of his master is gone either because he gets eaten alive or the master finds him and returns him from whence he came.

 No one would judge him, scold him, or rip him apart on social media if he decides to ignore the lion. If anything, Androcles would be encouraged to leave the lion alone - after all, he's preserving his own life.  No one would blame, Androcles. To make the decision easier, no one in the forest was witnessing firsthand the dilemma staring him down; there was no Instagram following, no Facebook Live feed for Androcles' friends to view, and no news van parked in the forest so the runaway slave's kindness would go viral. He had no motivating factor to do his deed of the day. He had no agent chirping in his ear telling him to perform an act of kindness so the entire forest would know about in order for it to improve his image as the good guy doing good things. It was the lion, Androcles, and his moral compass guiding him. Despite having everything to lose and a healthy, man-eating lion to gain, Androcles still chose to rescue the hurting lion. 

If you ignore the ending of the story, and even the part where Andy and the lion become besties, there is no logical reason the slave should stop to help. No reason whatsoever. Period.

Let's stick with the Tip-of-the-Iceberg response: Kindness is cool. Is it? In this case, it doesn't sound too cool. Yes, Andy is kind, and that's respectable. If cool means eating raw meat the lion gives you as a gift, getting recaptured, and forced to fight against a ravenous lion in an arena - the same killer lion who you just befriended, then yes, cool. But that wouldn't be a cool life for me. The moment the word "Recaptured" was part of the timeline, I stopped considering pulling a thorn out as an option.

Let's zoom in on Andy's decision making for a minute. In the beginning of the story, Androcles is a runaway slave in a forest where his owner is no where to be seen. What does this mean for the slave? His escape plan worked. Androcles is probably no different than your typical human. He probably reasoned with himself to not show anyone kindness or help anyone in need because that would stall his only shot at freedom. No one would oppose him deciding to do what makes him happy. His slave friends probably said something along the lines of "You do you" or "Let the haters hate." When the slave hears the cries of the lion, all the convincing the devil on Androcles' shoulder did to keep him focused on his escape plan fell to the wayside. He used his freedom to set the lion free. He traded the freedom he had to love the lion unconditionally, even if it cost him any future freedom he would have. He didn't keep his freedom to himself; he shared it by giving the lion a shot at freedom from the thorn.

That's the Mariana Trench response.

What this Means to Us:

In a lot of ways, Androcles should be us on any given day. We are called to a higher standard in how we treat one another, not just when it is most convenient or when all eyes are on us. The fact that Androcles and the Lion takes place in the forest where no other creatures a mentioned is not by accident. Androcles gave up his perfect escape plan because someone needed help - and without a moment's hesitation, he jumped in to save the lion. He risked his own life to save the lion so the lion could get back to doing lion things. Androcles is the Aesop's Fables version of the Good Samaritan.

One of the observations my students undoubtedly make at some point in the conversations we have about this story is how many times the slave could have taken care of his needs and done nothing for the lion. First, he could have kept running through the woods and taken advantage of the lion's thorn misfortune. Second, when the lion brings Androcles to the cave to feed him food as a gift for pulling the thorn out of his paw, he could have said "toodles" after getting his fill. Since he didn't, Androcles was recaptured and sent to the Colosseum to take part in the games against his friend, the lion.

The more you think about this story, the more it makes you wonder what would have happened if Andy didn't stop and assist the lion. Sure, he may have still gotten recaptured and dropped into the arena to face the lion, or maybe not. Maybe Andy would be spotted on some nameless island off the grid, sipping Pina Coladas and munching on the finest fresh sushi. All you can eat too. Regardless of the outcome, Andy sacrificed his freedom so someone else could be free. The slaves freedom from slavery became the lion's freedom from a thorn. Isn't this what we're called to do as well? In a moments notice, we should consider how to step in to assist those who need it, regardless of what it accomplishes for us. It is evident in this short story that not once did Andy consider what saving the lion would do for himself. 

Unfortunately, too often, I do the opposite of Androcles. I calculate the risk of being Jesus to others and wind up talking myself out of kindness. Like Andy and the lion, the Samaritan who assisted the Jewish man in distress was a part of a people group staunchly opposed to Jews. While lions and humans are not known to be enemies of each other, they also are not known to be within the same pride - they are not known to coexist in the wild together, and anyone who advises you to pack your bags to go live with the lions in the grasslands of Africa is an utter fool. 

So, we have a runaway slave who assists a lion without regard for his own future in one of Aesop's fables. We have a Samaritan man going out of his way to help a Jewish man heal in one of the parables told by Jesus. Both of the main characters in each story have no reason to do what they did except because it is the right thing to do. They both did something great for someone else, even if it meant sacrificing their own agenda. 

On the cross, Jesus didn't just do what he did because "Kindness is cool." Andy, the Samaritan, and Jesus all represent a step deeper than kindness: Love. The first two stories are fictional - a fable and a parable. Jesus' story of dying on the cross so we can experience life is real. His loving kindness was not shown out of convenience. It cost him his freedom. He died a brutal death, filled with torture, humiliation, and indescribable pain so that we could live an abundant life. He pulled the thorn out of us and wore a crown of them on his head. That's not just kindness. It's love. 

It's love in the form of sacrifice, and Jesus urges us to use his death an resurrection as an example for how deep our love should be for those around us:

"As the Father has love me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love...My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

-John 15:13 

Androcles laid his freedom down for the lion so he could be freed. The Good Samaritan aided the Jew in his recovery and sacrificed his time, energy, and finances to help him. Jesus set those captured by sin free by putting those sins on his shoulders and taking them to the cross, where we belonged.

How will you lay your life down for those God placed in your path?

*https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/lions 

**https://www.britannica.com/animal/lion