I RECENTLY MET a passionate man with a singular habit: Whenever he saw someone carrying a Bible or wearing something Christian in nature (e.g., a t-shirt, bracelet,  cross), he would ask them, “Hey, what’s the most important commandment in the Bible?” 

While this may sound a bit brusque, it was the man’s infectious enthusiasm for God, His Word, and human beings that made the question feel very positive and energizing. Driving the question, I sensed, was a genuine desire to create conversation and awareness around the practical, actionable, inspirational answer to his question: loving the Lord our God with all of ourselves—heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).

But what, in the throes of the often frenetic job of classroom teacher, does this love of God actually look like? How do we develop a mindset—mental grooves, well-worn soul paths—that point us to our Lord even while we engage with this often stressful job? 

Let’s look at some opportunities.

• We can ask just that question. What does it look like to love the Lord with all our souls while we do the work of teaching? Does it look like pursuing “the second [greatest commandment]”—loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:39)? Does it look like certain devotional practices? Fasting once per week? Discussions like this with fellow teachers who apprentice to Jesus can develop a culture in which we are seeking the Lord intentionally in the context of our day-to-day. The greatest commandment provides so much room for exploration, imagination, perspiration, and discussion.
• We can adopt a verse to bring to mind throughout our day. In my pocket right now are folded index cards with verses that I want to bring to my mind throughout the day. Lately, Psalm 18:1 has provided sustenance: “I love you, Lord, my strength” (NIV). Throughout the day, I say it in my mind; during my prep, I say it out loud. It’s a potent statement against despair or frustration. It points me toward the reality of our Father’s goodness, even when the classroom or the pressures of this job tempt me towards overwhelm or helplessness. It is a reliable aid in my heart’s pursuit of our God.
• Keep a prayer journal at school. In the fall, I was moved by a series of testimonies given at our church about the spiritual discipline of prayer. They convicted me to examine my prayer life. I found that prayer had become more cursory in my life than it was in these testimonies. So, I decided to create a physical reminder to pray and a physical record of that praying. Months later, my drawer is slowly but surely filling with the small notebooks I keep for my prayers.

The late philosopher and Jesus-follower, Dallas Willard, was fond of saying, “Grace is opposed to earning but is not opposed to effort.” 

When we undertake the forms of effort I’ve described, this distinction is important to keep in view. We do this work not because it earns us any special favor with our Father, who already loves us with a completeness that cannot be added to. Instead, we do it so that we might step into His favor, His goodness, and His power to ever greater degrees.

A mindset is really just a way of being in the world. What better way to be is there than to love the Lord our God with all of who we are.

Dave Stuart Jr. is a husband and dad who teaches high school students in a small town. He writes about teaching students toward long-term flourishing at DaveStuartJr.com.