One night as a Female Resident Assistant
over college housing residents, I met two of my residents leaving the apartment
five minutes before curfew. I told them if they left they would be breaking
curfew and to go to their apartment. Thirty minutes later, I received a phone
call from their roommate concerned that they were not home. I called the two
residents who broke curfew and told them to return immediately to the apartment
where they received a stern lecture both for missing curfew and blatantly
disregarding my earlier warning. As I waited for these residents to return I was
flooded with different emotions: anger at their defiance, relief that they were
safe, and confusion over why they made this decision. I struggled with the
letter and the reason for the curfew rule. They were not home in time; curfew
was broken. Yet, curfew was to help keep them safe and they were not injured.
Later, I realized my internal struggle came from my benevolence for them.
Millard Erickson defines divine benevolence
as “God’s concern for the welfare of those whom he loves.”[1]
God demonstrates his benevolence for mankind in multiple ways. Two ways this is
exhibited are through provision and discipline.
Jesus discusses God’s provision of food
and clothing for mankind, “This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will
wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the
birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26).
God’s gifts of food and clothing demonstrate His benevolence in caring for our
needs.
A second way in which God shows His
benevolence is by disciplining humanity. In the time of the judges, the
Israelites violated the covenant with God and worshipped gods from nations not
driven out during the time of Joshua. God disciplined the Israelites for their
lack of faithfulness by allowing these nations to remain in the land to test
the Israelites. “The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He declared,
‘Because this nation has violated My covenant that I made with their fathers
and disobeyed Me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations
Joshua left when he died. I did this to test Israel and to see whether they
would keep the Lord’s way by walking in it, as their fathers had” (Judges
2:20-22). God displays His benevolence by not allowing unjust actions to go
unchecked. Like a parent disciplines a child so that he can learn from his
mistakes, God disciplines His people in order that their ultimate welfare is
benefited. The author of Hebrews states, “But if you are without
discipline–which all receive–then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Furthermore, we had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them.
Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? For they
disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but He does it for our benefit, so that
we can share His holiness” (Hebrews 12:8-10).
My position as Housing Coordinator at a
small Christian college is a way in which God shows His concern for the welfare
of the residents. How does the benevolence of God as demonstrated by provision
and discipline affect how I should oversee college housing students?
First, I and my office manifest God’s
benevolence through meeting physical needs of the residents: a good place to
live, security of their possessions, affordability of living cost, and rules to
protect the residents and the community. In Matthew 6, Jesus says to not worry
about what you will eat or wear because God is looking out for those concerns.
Likewise, as a Housing Coordinator I need to be aware that I play a role in ministering God’s
benevolence to my residents which helps them follow Jesus’
exhortation to not worry.
Second, God’s benevolence is manifested
through discipline of residents who break the rules of the community. It requires
choosing to be personal with the students and interacting with questions and
problems that arise and not shunning away from enforcing disciplinary actions
for those who break the rules even though it might be painful or difficult for
the student. While it would have been easier for the Israelites if God
eradicated the other nations, He left them in order to discipline the
Israelites and to test and teach them to obey Him. If God did not discipline
the Israelites then it would call into question whether God really cared for
them in the first place.
As a Housing Coordinator, to manifest the
benevolence of God towards my residents requires both looking out for their
physical needs and disciplining them when a situation arises. When I
disciplined the two residents for breaking curfew, one of the residents
repented for her disobedience and she never broke curfew again. Recently, this
former resident told me while she did not understand the curfew rule when she
broke it, being disciplined kept her from a lot of trouble and she knew that I
cared for her wellbeing. If I had allowed my internal struggle to keep me from
disciplining her I could have done her more harm than good.
