Do you like to teach? Do you enjoy providing people with information they did not have before? Do you like providing useful information that will help people? Have you ever made a mistake when teaching? Have you misspoken, whether accidentally or knowingly?
Teaching is an honorable profession. Most of us teach at some point, whether we realize it or not. We teach our children. We teach our grandchildren. We teach people we work with. We may even teach people we meet in the grocery store. Teaching occurs every day.
James cautions us against becoming teachers. Why? Teachers are held to a higher standard. When teachers make mistakes, many people point out the mistakes. Yet, we all make mistakes. But James is speaking to teaching about God. Making mistakes when teaching about God is more egregious than making mistakes when teaching about cooking.
When we teach, and we will, we are to ensure that what we teach is correct. We need to ensure we know the subject we are teaching thoroughly. When we teach, we need to be precise. We also need to ensure we not only teach but challenge people to think for themselves. We need to encourage them to come up with new ideas. At the same time, we should hold ourselves accountable for proper teaching.
I pray we all ensure we teach correctly. I pray we know that teaching is held to a higher standard. I pray each one of us will challenge those we teach to think for themselves. Teach correctly. Know you are held to a higher standard. Challenge your students. Teach them to think for themselves.
James 3:1-2 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.
Marty Pressey 