When CCA has sophomores next year, they will get to read Charles Dickens’ book, A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens takes the readers on a masterful journey through the good and the bad – justice and injustice – love and hate – service and selfishness. At one point, a character leans into another just as he is about to do something redeeming and sacrificial – he says, “Live the life you love.” To fully understand that quote you will have to read the novel (I highly recommend that you do and do not wish to give any spoilers here), but suffice to say, this character learned the hard way to be grateful for the life he had (and wasted). To live a life that is loved, certain foundational qualities must be inculcated into that life with the end result not only being a life that is loved, but a heart filled with gratitude.
One such quality is to love the things worth loving. It is popular to say that at a classical school we teach scholars how to think not what to think, but ironically, at the earliest stages, we do teach our scholars not only what to think, but what to love and how to order the things that they love as not to obsess over good things and to outright shun the bad things – things objectively not worth loving.
Gratitude springs from a heart that loves as it should. Culture wants love to be all about sexuality – there is eros, yes, but it is all there is? No. In fact, there is agape love which is the love that is selfless, and philia, the love that is brotherly, friendly – both are outward loves. Culture wants us to love ourselves and make sure our self-care is intact, and to be clear, I am not advocating ignoring our health or emotions, but I am contending that gratitude comes from looking out instead of looking in.
Another quality is service. Some are called to serve to the point of giving their own lives for others – the soldier, the policeman, the fireman. Some are called to donate from their hard-earned wages and successful endeavors, and others volunteer with their time and talents because they have the ability to do so. Still, some are called to serve in their homes, serve their aging family members, and in their places of worship. Make no mistake, all are called to serve; it is an essential quality to a life well loved.
Serving others creates grateful hearts. Culture wants us to serve ourselves – get what is ours or owed us – to practice self-preservation at all costs. Esther, chosen to be Ahasuerus’ queen, could have ignored the pleas of her cousin Mordecai to entreat the king to save her people, but he wisely told her that though she may may think keeping her status quiet will save her, he said it would not, that she would not escape, and that help would come from another place if she declined to use her position in service to her people. Esther chose to serve, risking her own life making requests of the king uninvited, and as a result she was grateful to her husband-king and a nation was grateful to her.
At Columbus Classical Academy, I do not expect any of our scholars to be faced with the life and death decisions such as the character from our Dickens novel or Queen Esther, but I do expect them to come across great stories of love, loss, redemption, service, and sacrifice– that’s how it is done – experiencing deep, rich content that does not shy away from the complexity of life or fail to call our scholars to higher thinking and action. I also expect them to practice brotherly love and serve their fellow scholars – to be held to a standard higher than their selfish desires may wish. This cannot be taught through character training worksheets or caught being good demonstrations – it comes from the refining fires of trial and error, from encounters with good people willing to model and hold scholars accountable, and by delving into genuinely great books, histories, and even math problems. I expect our scholars to have the fundamentals of rightly placed love and servant attitudes so that when they are off on journeys of their own, they, too, can “live the life they love” with thankful hearts.
