Writing on the Ground and Managing Stress

Before our family moved to China three years ago, my wife and I visited a health food store in eastern Tennessee. We thought we would stock up on items that would be hard to find overseas. While there, we met the owner of the store. He took us into a back room with all kinds of charts and diagrams on the walls and talked to us for about an hour. We discussed the air and water pollution in China and other potential health hazards. Then I asked, “What do you think will be our biggest health concern?”

His answer surprised me.

“Stress.”

Do you think of stress as a major health concern?

We have all experienced stress and every role comes with its own unique stressors. In my first year teaching, I worked at an international school in Singapore as a high school teacher. Since the curriculum was not great, I decided to write my own lessons from scratch. As you can imagine, it was really hard. I used to work on my weekly lesson plans on Sundays from about 1 p.m. until midnight or later. I should add that this year was probably more challenging for my wife. She was home alone all day in a foreign country with a 1-year old and without a vehicle.

Sometime later, I remember wondering what the administrators did all day and thinking that they seemed to have a much easier job. They didn’t have to spend all day every day with 100 high school students.

Then after five years of teaching, I became a middle school principal. I had a good experience, but I learned that there are always stressful things for every administrator: kids fighting, teachers wanting various changes, and parents wanting to meet. As a result, my appreciation for administrators increased.

Since then I’ve been a house parent, elementary principal, middle school teacher, and now guidance counselor. (Yes, I really like being challenged in new ways.) I have learned that each role has its own unique pressures, but you can’t really see them until you are in that role. I have also learned that the common denominator in every role is me and stress. I bring myself with all of my flaws into each new position. The question is not whether a particular role will be stressful, but how will I process the specific stress associated with each role?

This year began with the following strains: understanding new health and safety procedures, preparing to co-teach with teachers in other countries, starting online programs with other institutions, and getting ready to teach AP Psychology for the first time. I should also mention that this is my daughter’s senior year.

A Story in John 8

As I was thinking about stress at the start of this school year, I read a story in the Gospel of John that left an impression on me. It is one of the most peculiar stories in the Bible—the woman caught in the act of adultery. This story is strange because it is not found in the oldest manuscripts we have of John. We don’t have any original writings of Scripture, but we have many handwritten copies or manuscripts. And this story does not appear in any of the oldest copies. It shows up later in the manuscript history. Consequently, many scholars conclude that it was not written by the original author.

The story itself, however, seems to accurately depict the Pharisees and teachers of the law, trying to trap Jesus in a legal dilemma. This is something they repeatedly do throughout the Gospels. And Jesus’ response corresponds with his emphasis on mercy. Finally, it contains such an odd detail that it seems hard to understand why anyone would have made it up. So perhaps the story was passed down orally then written down later. We don’t know for certain, but I think it’s instructive for the topic of stress so I’m going to use it.

What happens in the story?

The teachers of the law and Pharisees bring a woman to Jesus who was caught in the act of adultery. Then they ask Jesus: “Moses commanded that she be stoned, what do you say?”

Imagine a group of guys ready to execute a woman but wanting to first hear from Jesus. Talk about a stressful situation. Her life was hanging on his answer.

How does Jesus respond?

“Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger” (8:6).

What?

Imagine if a group of teachers and parents charged into a principal’s office with an urgent question and instead of answering, the principal reaches for his window cleaner and starts cleaning the windows.

What is happening here?

Jesus is not allowing the stress of the situation to overwhelm him. He will not be pressured to answer instantly.

What was he writing on the ground? We don’t know, but whatever it was, it didn’t answer their question because “they kept on questioning him.” And then Jesus “straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground” (vv. 6-8).

What is the idea with Jesus’ unique behavior?

Just because other people think something is urgent doesn’t mean it should be urgent for us. Just because we are pressured to answer immediately doesn’t mean we should. We don’t have to allow the stress of others to drive our lives.

So far, I’ve only looked at this from one perspective, as the one receiving the stress. If I’m honest, I must also admit that as a task-oriented person who wants to get things done, I’m also the one who gives stress. But others don’t have to be driven by my stress just as I don’t have to be driven by theirs.

Les Bridgeman

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.