Key Verse: Verse 9 – “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
Key Words: for my strength is made perfect in weakness
The feelings of inadequacies which cause one child to surrender and another to fight (covered in devotion for April 14) will cause still even others to become the class clown.
I remember reading years ago about comedienne, Phyllis Diller, who made a fortune by poking fun at herself in regard to her physical appearance. By her own account, she was shy, inadequate and withdrawn. She said, “I was constantly aware of my unattractiveness, so I coped by becoming a clown.”
Jonathan Winters admits that his humor was a defense against childhood hurts. His parents were divorced when he was seven. He said, “Other kids would tease me because I had no dad at home. I spent many lonely nights crying myself to sleep until humor replaced my tears. I became the class clown because it brought me acceptance.”
The class clown, in all likelihood, is dealing with one or more of the following feelings of inadequacies.
Looks – They see themselves as unattractive. It may be they have been told this by parents or peers; so they resort to being the class clown to compensate for their looks.
Academics – Often the class clown is slow to catch on to new math problems or English terms, science may not “stick,” and as a result of their academic “slowness,” they turn to humor to take the focus off their failing grades.
Inabilities – Many children with inabilities such as sight where those big, thick, ugly glasses have to be worn, and their peers make light of their “ugly glasses,” will resort to becoming the class clown to compensate. Woody Allen is a great example in this area. The inability of speech impediments cause some to become the class clown, and still even others who lack in athletic prowess, will resort to humor. (I think you get the idea.)
Humor is often a cover-up for their feelings of inadequacies in looks, academics, and inabilities.
Every school teacher is well acquainted with the clown or clowns in her class. But what most teachers fail to understand is while the clown is a problem to her, a good laugh to the class; they are in deep pain in their heart and are simply battling for acceptance. While the clown may be hard to love and even harder to tolerate at times, they are not as bad as you think. Help them through their turbulent years and they may turn out to be productive adults for Christ.
What to do:
✞ Teach your child that only in Christ are they complete.
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