Golden Rule Scam?

I received a newsletter yesterday from a friend who works in New Hampshire juvenile facilities with Straight Ahead Ministries. The following excerpt from her letter bears repeating here:

“The world may wonder why we would want to waste our time with juvenile delinquents. We’ve heard the arguments: They’ll never change. Those kids are hopeless. They deserve what they get! Before a prospective volunteer goes into a facility for the first time, I usually give them fair warning. Not the kind of warning you might expect—that these kids will mock them, disrespect them or try to physically hurt them. Rather, I warn them that once they spend this hour with the kids, they will be hooked. I am proved right most of the time. It’s not easy to explain why these kids wrap around our hearts. I just know that once you meet them, listen to their stories, read their prayer requests, see the sadness in their eyes and the masks they wear, you just can’t help but love them…”

Laura’s words resonated in a very personal way with me last night after a particularly emotional night at ARTreach 180. We have been up and running now for only 4 weeks, but God is clearly at work in the hearts of these kids, and it has been a beautiful thing to watch them learn to trust us and each other.

(names changed for confidentiality)

I told you last month about Alonzo, a 16-year-old tied to a gang whose anger consumes him. After a 2-day suspension last week because of profanity with a teacher, he and I were discussing how he could have handled the situation differently. He told me, “That Do unto others as you would have them do unto you thing doesn’t work. It just gets you hurt.” I pointed out that there is no promise attached to the Golden Rule and that Jesus himself is the prime example of that. As I’ve thought about that conversation since the events of last night, I have come to realize more and more that Alonzo’s anger is a mask for fear and that his behavior is based in pain – a frequent scenario for at-risk youth.

Last night we were finishing snack time when it happened. Horseplay escalated and a punch was thrown. An assistant principal and the school resource officer came immediately, and three boys were escorted out, Alonzo among them. Since we are using the school facilities, we have to defer to school authorities, so we have no control over the consequences. When Alonzo’s mom came to pick him up, she brought him into ARTreach to see us. It is likely that he will be expelled from school which means he will not be able to participate anymore. His mom stood there in complete shock as her son hugged all of us with tears flowing down his face. She said to me, “My son does not cry. This speaks volumes for what you all are doing here.” I tend to believe it speaks volumes for what God is doing in Alonzo.

A lifeguard cannot save a swimmer who is bigger than he is until the swimmer has given up trying to save himself. We don’t know the end of this story, but we know The One who does. Please join us in praying that God will use this incident to continue to work healing in this young man’s heart and show him that he is drowning in his anger and cannot save himself.