Teachers

James 3:1 "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment."

If you were to ask me what gets my juices going, what charges me up, what do I really like to do in the church, this is it...teach. I love preparing a sermon or a lesson or a plan and presenting it to people. I love taking God's word and grabbing the truth that is contained there and sharing it with others. As far as general teaching, not so much. I tried that. I was an adjunct professor at Indiana Wesleyan and I tried teaching some business courses and I did not like it. But give me the Bible and an opportunity to present it to a large group, small group, one on one and I am there. As I lead worship every Sunday I don't preach, we leave that up to Randy, but I do teach, and I love it.

Then this verse hits me in the face. James was telling the church that there should not be many teachers. Why? Because those who share God's word with others will be strictly judged. Those who teach His word will face greater condemnation and punishment. Why? What is the big deal? Because what we say has to be truth. What we say has to line up with His Word. What we say communicates and influences. And what we say has to be real in our own lives.

What we say has to be consistent with His word. We must communicate truth. If we deviate. If we mislead. If we go after our own agenda and ignore or twist God's word, we are in trouble.

What we say influence. People listen and hopefully people respond. We don't share just to hear ourselves talk. We want people to apply what is said to their lives and make changes. If we are encouraging people to do certain things, it better be what God wants. If not, we are in trouble.

What we say has to be real in our lives. If it is not, if what we tell others to do is not something that we are doing we are hypocrites and we are in trouble.

It all boils down to what James goes on to say in the rest of the chapter. Watch your tongue. Control your tongue. Be careful with your tongue. It is a "restless evil full of deadly poison." It can influence to the point of death. When you think of it that way, no wonder James said: "Let not many of you become teachers." No wonder we, as teachers, will receive a stricter judgment. We are accountable for what we say and when it is said to impact others, we must be careful. We must be precise. We must be Spirit lead.

All the more reason to pray. All the more reason to ask God to control my tongue. All the more reason to prepare well. All the more reason to pray for my Pastor.