pprof’s 2008 website

A couple of days ago, a comment on Campus Comedy’s YouTube channel revealed an inconvenient truth, a fact I wish I had learned some ten years ago: I never should have been a teacher.

In this comment a former student, identifying himself as Vladko Putin, stated:

Jarko zas robi pakoviny…:D vidno ako sa venuje praci :DD klasika Marcinovska.. Ja som len zvedavy ci aj na vysokej skole teraz namiesto ucenia angliny zase len Futuramu pozeraju :DD blb

implying that I had hardly ever done anything with my high school classes and was I any better now. Truly an inconvenient truth — especially for a person who loves teaching as much as I do and sees it as his calling, rather than a mere profession.

Ironically enough, just like the Al Gore movie, the author failed to see the inconvenient truth about himself: that he hardly ever attended the classes and was constantly absent during testing times. So, quite like Al Gore preaching on environmental issues despite his sky-rocketing utility bills; here was someone literally pulling a speck of dust out of my eye and not seeing the plank in his own eye (Matthew 7).

And as if that were not enough, both Vladko Putin and Al Gore claim to be members of the same Christian denomination. Talk about inconvenient truths! How can you say you’re Christian when your actions give you away? Jesus used the H-word for this kind of people: hypocrite.

And while we’re on the subject of inconvenient truths, why don’t I share some more: I taught EFL at a Slovak high school for five years. 4.5 years out of that I taught 24/25 classes per week. On top of that I had an English drama club (4 years) and was a “class teacher” (2 years). It was extremely exhausting.

Now I’m teaching at a university. The teaching load is much more bearable. But I’m expected to be writing articles and going to conferences although I have to buy my own books and pay for all the travels and conference fees. Yet even in ordinary months I (and my wife) make barely enough money to cover our family’s living expenses (and we are not high-maintenance).

And finally, no matter what I do, there still are students who have done no work whatsoever but have the nerve to scold me (preferably in public places) — as if we teachers were some sort of human scum. And I think these truths are so inconvenient our ministry (quite like some of our students) won’t even admit them.

So, if you’re going trick-or-treating or partying today (happy Halloween!), you might as well dress up as a teacher. You have my blessing.

Some people really freak out when they hear of cases like this one, where parents (who happen to be Jehovah’s Witnesses) tried to prevent doctors from giving their little girl an infusion to save her life, or another one (and yet another), where parents preferred prayer over medical treatment and thus caused their child to die. And, to be completely honest, I am appalled by such cases too. But I fear there might be too many who think Christianity is to blame.

Then, interestingly enough, the same people who are constantly finding fault with Christianity are perfectly OK supporting abortions. To them, this a ”moral choice” and a “responsible” one, too (even though it follows an irresponsible action), as if the killing of an unborn baby was a totally different issue. You know - as if the baby had never been alive!

As a Christian, I think our life is one of the most precious gifts from God. And I believe in the power of prayer. But I also believe, God doesn’t need to work miracles if he’s already provided us with a different way of solving the problem (e.g. developments in medicine), which we prefer to overlook. So, don’t blame God; blame people.

At the same time, I think abortionists got it wrong too. They kill when there’s no (objective) reason to kill. But I wonder how many of these great pro-choice minds (and mouths) wouldn’t mind if their parents (or mothers, at least) had aborted them. (Now, that’s a thinker.) And I wonder what the world would look like now, with all the “friends of abortion” forever faded into oblivion.

If you worry too much about your future, you might be failing to see the problems others around you are facing today.

And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? (Luke 12:25, NAS)

Though a little later than usual, we bring you our latest This Month in the News (in two parts). And we hope you enjoy the little improvements we try to bring (although we still might need to work on the sound). Anyway, hope you have a good laugh (especially if you need it after a busy week).