Romans 2:21 says, in part, “Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?” Paul goes on to talk about the hypocrisy of telling other people to do things that one is doing oneself, but that’s not really my point. It has been said that teaching others is like learning twice. In all honesty, a lot of what I know (or at least think I know) I have learned by trying to teach others.
The Bible also says that if you commit your works unto the Lord, then your thoughts will be established. That sounds kind of backwards, but, a lot of times it’s easier to wrap your mind around something that you are actually doing. I personally don’t have a lot of faith in the Harold Hill method of learning. We, as human beings, though, tend to want to learn everything we can about something before we start doing it.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that even if he had all knowledge, and understood all mysteries, if he didn’t have charity, it wasn’t any good. I hasten to point out that the words charity has morphed somewhat over the last four hundred years. At the time the Bible was translated, charity meant, simply unconditional love, particularly love for one’s fellow man. Since then, the word has come to mean organizations set up to allow one to express such care with one’s checkbook (that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I do think that a lot of people write checks out of guilt, when they could do a lot more if they would just get involved and actually do something). Again, the point is that it isn’t so much what you know, it’s what you do and why you do it (doing the right thing for the wrong reasons doesn’t get you anywhere with God).
When I first started blogging, I didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted to blog about; I just wanted to write, and publish what I was writing. As time passed, I realized that the best thing for me to write about was the really important thing: God. The more I blog, the more I feel I understand. Of course, I try to research what I write, and not just post what I think. You may have heard the question asked, Why is it that the people who know the least, know it the loudest? I get annoyed myself at people that want to teach everyone else but aren’t willing to put any effort into learning; they are so busy talking that they don’t listen. God gave us twice as many ears as mouths for a reason. I don’t want to be like that. I know that I have, at times, just pushed through what I thought without really knowing, but I try to restrain myself.
The bottom line is, if you want to know what the Bible says, you should study it (2 Timothy 2:15), but you should make some attempt to teach it to others. Make sure that what you are teaching is actual Scripture. If you can’t back up what you are teaching with the Bible, then you shouldn’t be teaching it. If you have to take verses out of context to make your point, then your point is wrong (there is a Scripture that says Judas went and hanged himself, there is another one that says, go, and do thou likewise, and another that says, that thou doest, do quickly, but it would be foolish to put those three thoughts together as a teaching point).
Do something with what you have learned, even if you feel you haven’t learned enough (I certainly don’t feel that I know anything of any real importance—and what little I do know I learned by teaching). Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, we all do; as the saying goes, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Just be prepared to learn from your mistakes. That’s a hard way to learn, but it’s harder to forget the lessons learned that way. So get busy!
The Bible also says that if you commit your works unto the Lord, then your thoughts will be established. That sounds kind of backwards, but, a lot of times it’s easier to wrap your mind around something that you are actually doing. I personally don’t have a lot of faith in the Harold Hill method of learning. We, as human beings, though, tend to want to learn everything we can about something before we start doing it.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that even if he had all knowledge, and understood all mysteries, if he didn’t have charity, it wasn’t any good. I hasten to point out that the words charity has morphed somewhat over the last four hundred years. At the time the Bible was translated, charity meant, simply unconditional love, particularly love for one’s fellow man. Since then, the word has come to mean organizations set up to allow one to express such care with one’s checkbook (that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I do think that a lot of people write checks out of guilt, when they could do a lot more if they would just get involved and actually do something). Again, the point is that it isn’t so much what you know, it’s what you do and why you do it (doing the right thing for the wrong reasons doesn’t get you anywhere with God).
When I first started blogging, I didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted to blog about; I just wanted to write, and publish what I was writing. As time passed, I realized that the best thing for me to write about was the really important thing: God. The more I blog, the more I feel I understand. Of course, I try to research what I write, and not just post what I think. You may have heard the question asked, Why is it that the people who know the least, know it the loudest? I get annoyed myself at people that want to teach everyone else but aren’t willing to put any effort into learning; they are so busy talking that they don’t listen. God gave us twice as many ears as mouths for a reason. I don’t want to be like that. I know that I have, at times, just pushed through what I thought without really knowing, but I try to restrain myself.
The bottom line is, if you want to know what the Bible says, you should study it (2 Timothy 2:15), but you should make some attempt to teach it to others. Make sure that what you are teaching is actual Scripture. If you can’t back up what you are teaching with the Bible, then you shouldn’t be teaching it. If you have to take verses out of context to make your point, then your point is wrong (there is a Scripture that says Judas went and hanged himself, there is another one that says, go, and do thou likewise, and another that says, that thou doest, do quickly, but it would be foolish to put those three thoughts together as a teaching point).
Do something with what you have learned, even if you feel you haven’t learned enough (I certainly don’t feel that I know anything of any real importance—and what little I do know I learned by teaching). Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, we all do; as the saying goes, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Just be prepared to learn from your mistakes. That’s a hard way to learn, but it’s harder to forget the lessons learned that way. So get busy!
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