Classroom Economy and the Gospel

In my fifth grade classroom we use a classroom economy.  Students earn the schoolwide currency for things like turning in all their homework, showing PRIDE (schoolwide PBIS), and classroom jobs.  However, there are also fines for things like not showing PRIDE, losing papers and needing more copies, or calling their teacher by anything other than Miss Jessee (that would be me).

Last weekend, I decided to make a strategic move: I would go full gospel on my class.  Now, to them I did not call it that.  But for me it is an experiment in what it would be like to offer to freely forgive their debts, and see how they responded.  In the process, I learned several things about how I imagine God may see our responses to His free gift of salvation through the death of His Son.

I started the day telling the students that I would be paying them (or issuing fine statements) as usual that afternoon.  Tuesdays are paydays in my class, payday for the previous week.  I then told them that the paycheck (or fine statement) they would be receiving that afternoon would already be balanced into my classroom bank balance, and I could show them if they owed me a debt.  If they did owe me a debt, I would offer them debt forgiveness, but they had to ask for it.

Well, when I started settling accounts, it was interesting to see how different students interacted with the news of what they owed me.  The first few students I met with who had debts didn't ask for the debt forgiveness that I had offered.  I showed them what they owed and asked if they wanted to do anything about it, and they said no.  This was a little shocking to me.  Why would you NOT ask for a free solution to your debt problem?

One student was not ready to ask (timidity?), and I asked if he wanted time to think about it.  He said yes.

Later, there were two students in a row who asked for debt forgiveness and received it immediately.  These two students were from the same table group as the student who had not been ready to make a decision about it.  When they were discussing it later, he looked at them and said, "I want debt forgiveness!"

I turned to him.  "Well, you just have to ask for it."

"Miss Jessee, would you forgive my debt?"

"Yes, I will."  Done, that is all it took.

So, here are a few things I ponder about how God sees our wandering about.  Those students who did not owe a debt have not yet understood the joy of the funds they have because I have not yet opened the store.  I think God knows that many think they live such good lives that they do not need debt forgiveness, so they go about thinking they don't need God.  Sadly, we forget that God is the giver of all good gifts, and the rewards they will enjoy, even the having of funds in the first place, these are not apart from their teacher providing them.

Secondly, I think about those students who did not ask for debt forgiveness.  Knowing the way these students think, I can see at least one of them waiting until later in the week to ask, knowing all debts to that point would be wiped out (including PRIDE clips moving down this week), so they'd be getting more forgiveness than they already had wracked up in debt before payday.  I have told them as much, that I would forgive even the clips down to that point.  I have not set a deadline.  I also haven't told them it's ongoing.  We shall see.

Additionally,  I wonder if those who did not ask for debt forgiveness were intimidated by the responsibility of what that would mean.  They are deep in a debt that they cannot pay back, and they know that there is an expectation that they start fresh and make better choices.  Likewise, when God forgives us and we are redeemed in Christ, our lives are no longer our own.  We are called to live differently in light of that forgiveness.  It's weighty!

Then, to see the relief of those who asked for debt forgiveness, I felt pride myself.  I had offered the forgiveness of debts, and given them the opportunity to start again.  They had received it, AND they told others about it!!!  AND another student asked for the same BECAUSE they talked about it!!!  This is the real working out of the Gospel in my classroom!

So, with all this, I got a small glimpse of how God might be looking in on us as we make the decision to receive - or not receive - His freely offered forgiveness.  I ponder how God longs for all of us to be saved, and how it must break His heart to have His gift refused.  I consider how God wants good things for us, and the gift is offered, waiting for us to receive it, if only we will walk towards Him and ask.  My experiment changed my thought process even more than I expected.