Instructions Not To Instruct

It is an exciting thing to think that as an adult we could inspire others on in their walk with Lord through teaching a class at church or in a home Bible Study.  But in the book of James anyone thinking about becoming a teacher needs to think twice.  Read James 3:1 -

“Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment;”

It is serious business to become  a leader and a teacher for the Lord.  We are held to a higher standard.  We are human and will make mistakes and stumble in sin, but we are expected to live as exemplary of  a life for the Lord as we can.  Many eyes are upon us a teachers.  What we teach, we must do or others will not want to learn from us.  God will hold us accountable for what we teach, as well.  We need to be prayed up and studied up before we teach.  We need to know God’s Word and teach it accurately.

So James is really imparting some important instructions to us in this verse.   Not everyone is meant to be a teacher.  It is a calling and a gift from the Lord.  So if you like the idea that you could inspire others and could impart wisdom to them, think twice.  Those are not the reasons to teach.  Your reason should be the fact that the Lord has called you to teach and given you the gifts you will need.

Wisdom’s Opportunity

How many teachers have you heard say, “There is no dumb question”?  Or they say,  “Don’t be afraid to ask questions.  Someone else in class may be wondering the same thing.”  It is true that you cannot learn unless you start listening to what you are being taught and then asking questions in the spots you don’t understand.  Yet so many will still sit back in class and be afraid to ask because they don’t want to appear dumb.  It’s not that you are dumb; it is just that you haven’t learned that subject yet.  No human being born as a baby comes out knowing everything.  It is a process.  We miss opportunities to learn by being embarrassed, scared or stubborn.  Without learning certain things we are probably missing further opportunities that would come because of our knowledge.  The next step to learning is the stage of wisdom.  Wisdom comes when we gain knowledge and then apply it and learn further through the experience.  There is nothing sadder than to first not seek knowledge or worse yet not to use that knowledge once it is learned.  We gain no wisdom and use no wisdom in our lives when we do that.  Once such example is found in Luke 10: 25 – 29.

25 Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  26 “What is written in the law?” He asked him. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.  28 “You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

This gentleman was expert in the law of the Lord and he saw Jesus as a teacher.  He saw the opportunity to confirm that he was going to have eternal life.  Jesus tested his knowledge with a question.  The gentleman correctly answered.  He had learned well.  Jesus, however, saw down in to his heart.  He knew that knowledge was not being applied.  The man then wanted to try to prove he was good to go by asking Jesus a question.  Jesus told him the parable of the good Samaritan.  At the end Jesus shared some wisdom with him.  He told him to do the same as the good Samaritan.  In other words, Jesus knew that the man was not applying his knowledge and that he lacked wisdom.  With Jesus’ command the man was given the opportunity to gain wisdom. 

It was good the man appeared to be seeking Jesus’ wisdom with his question, but more important would be that he did not pass up the opportunity to apply the wisdom.  We need to do the same.  We need to spend time with Jesus in the Word and prayer and then actually apply what we learn.  Too many times we go to church and hear a message and return home to re-enter our same routines and never applying what we learn.  Remember to take the opportunity to seek wisdom and to apply it.

 

What’s the Master Doing?

We spend years going to school and spend that time learning from our teachers.  We look to them as knowledgeable and experienced.  We trust their opinion.  We may go to a trade school to learn a special skill.  We expect that our trainer will teach the tricks of the trade.  We want to walk away from any learning experience prepared to be able to do a job or handle life better.  It should be the same thing in our spiritual life.  We should go to “school” at Sunday School, Worship Services, Bible Studies, Discipleship classes, time with fellow Christians expecting to grow and learn and become better prepared for our lives and our walk with the Lord.  The disciples spent 3 years with the greatest teacher there ever was.  As a matter of fact, they called him the “Master”.  They were learning from Him so that they could reach and teach others about God.  Jesus could use anything to teach.  He taught several lessons in Luke 8: 22-25.

22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

I want to focus on just one of the lessons He taught while He was in this boat with the disciples.  You might say they were silent instructions.  Pay attention to what our master is doing when the storm hits.  He is at peace and rest.  He does not let the storm bother Him.  He knows He can take care of it. The disciples on the other hand are beginning to panic.  They know the storm is bad and they begin to fear they are going to drown.  They seem to have forgotten who they were with.  After all they were following Jesus, because they thought He was the Messiah.  Yet here He was asleep.  If they really believed that He was who they thought He was, they should have realized that the Messiah was asleep and not even bothered by the storm.  That fact was a pretty big hint that it was probably all going to be ok.

This silent instruction from our Master is a pretty good one for us to pay attention to, as well.  If we believe that we are now heirs of God and children of the King, then we should be confident that God will take care of us.  We need not be afraid even when the worst storms roll in to our lives.  God will calm the storm when it is time.  We just have to have faith to ride the waves with Jesus.

Instructions Not To Instruct

It is an exciting thing to think that as an adult we could inspire others on in their walk with Lord through teaching a class at church or in a home Bible Study.  But in the book of James anyone thinking about becoming a teacher needs to think twice.  Read James 3:1 -

“¹ Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment;”

It is serious business to become  a leader and a teacher for the Lord.  We are held to a higher standard.  We are human and will make mistakes and stumble in sin, but we are expected to live as exemplary of  a life for the Lord as we can.  Many eyes are upon us a teachers.  What we teach, we must do or others will not want to learn from us.  God will hold us accountable for what we teach, as well.  We need to be prayed up and studied up before we teach.  We need to know God’s Word and teach it accurately.

So James is really imparting some important instructions to us in this verse.   Not everyone is meant to be a teacher.  It is a calling and a gift from the Lord.  So if you like the idea that you could inspire others and could impart wisdom to them, think twice.  Those are not the reasons to teach.  Your reason should be the fact that the Lord has called you to teach and given you the gifts you will need.

Eyes Glazed Over In Love

Did you ever sit in a class as a kid or a seminar as an adult and be bored to death?  Or listen to a teacher like on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxPVyieptwA)?  Complete monotone instruction hummed in your ears until your eyes glazed over. We all need to receive instructions in the basics of life and job skills to be able to survive.  So, sometimes we need to go through those boring sessions.  Those boring learning sessions however, sometimes lead us to not wanting to learn anything beyond what we have to learn to get through school or start a new job.  When we develop that attitude it causes us to miss out on something even better that we can learn in other situations.  Instruction is needed and important in our physical and spiritual life.  Spiritual instruction is actually vital to both our spiritual and physical lives.  If we see spiritual instruction as life giving, we will grow to love it.  It is all in our perspective.  If we let the Holy Spirit speak to us as we learn new instructions from God’s Word, we will blessed with new understanding, knowledge, insights, and wisdom.  The writer of Psalm 119: 164-166 tells us some other benefits of loving God’s instruction, “¹⁶⁴ I praise You seven times a day for Your righteous judgments. ¹⁶⁵ Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your instruction; nothing makes them stumble. ¹⁶⁶ LORD, I hope for Your salvation and carry out Your commands.”  If we love God’s instruction we will have abundant peace and will not stumble no matter what temptations come our way.  Our love of God’s Words will help us to ward off temptations to sin, which will provide us great peace as we stay in communion with God.  What a wonderful blessing.  So don’t avoid sermons at church or Sunday School class or Bible studies, because you think it will be boring or a repeat lesson of what you already know.  Go learn from God’s instruction every chance you get with a focus on how beneficial it will be for your life. Let your eyes glaze over in love of instruction not in boredom. Begin your love of God’s instruction today!