Lesson resolved

So, this is what I did to resolve the dilemma of my disagreement with the lesson manual: The manual had a story about a young boy who was given the charge to train a horse for farm work. They could accomplish much more together than either of them could separately, but only if the boy was in charge. I emphasized the idea that the body gives us far greater power than we would otherwise have, and that we need to learn to control it, but without couching it in terms of a “war” between body and spirit.

We did go through the passage in Galatians quite thoroughly, and I gave my view that “the flesh” referred to was not the body itself, but the influence mortality (including the body) has on our spirits, causing us to desire “the works of the flesh.” I also used sports analogies: learning to shoot free throws and the discipline involved in practice, and training with weights that impede us or slow us down but simultaneously make us stronger.

Almost everything I taught came from the manual, but I de-emphasized the areas I disagreed with and tried to avoid even bringing up anything that would cause me to point out my disagreement. Was it the right approach? I'm not sure, but I felt good about it, and it felt like a good and effective lesson.