Truly Worthy

I just had to write a high school recommendation for a child who has nothing to recommend him. I would write that he is respectful, but he isn't. I would write that he does all of his work, but I can count on my two hands the number of times this year that he has turned in completed homework. I would write that he takes notes, but he almost never has a pencil at his desk, let alone paper. I would write that he works well with his peers, but he almost never speaks. I would (and did) write that he is intelligent and has great potential, but I have no tangible proof to point to -- just faith and intuition.

I was discussing this dilemma with my roommate, and she disappeared into her room and returned with a book. (Ah, we are such teachers.) She read me the following passage from Theirs is the Kingdom by Robert Lupton (which I am now reading voraciously). Here is the excerpt:

"People with a heart to serve others want to know that their gifts are invested wisely. At least I do. I don't want my alms squandered by the irresponsible and the ungrateful. And since I'm often in a position to determine who will or will not receive assistance, I've attempted to establish criteria to judge the worthiness of potential recipients.

...A truly worthy poor young man: Is out of school, unemployed but not living off his mother. Diligently applies for job every day; accepts gratefully any kind of work for any kind of pay. Does not smoke, drink, or use drugs; attends church regularly. Will not manipulate for gain either for himself or his family; is dependable and morally pure. Does not act 'cool' or 'hip' like his peers on the street. Has pride in himself and is confident; may sleep in alleys but is always clean and shaved.

...I want to serve truly worthy poor people. The problem is they are hard to find. Someone on our staff thought he remembered seeing one back in '76 but can't remember for sure. Someone else reminded me that maybe to be truly poor means to be prideless, impatient, manipulative, desperate, grasping at every straw, and cluthing the immediate with little energy left for future plans. But truly worthy? Are any of us truly worthy?" (Lupton 60-61).

I heard these words and was convicted of my own pride and sense of what (or who) is valuable, what (or who) is worthy, and whether or not I had any justification to count myself among the worthy, if there is such a category. So I wrote the truth about this child and then wrote that I love having him as my student and he needs to be given a chance. He may or may not deserve it. But who among us does?