12/1 James 3:1

¹ Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

The teaching and preaching of the Word of God is a high calling that a person should not lightly take up. We can all share what the Lord has shown us in the Word, but to teach it authoritatively is another matter. It requires a life dedicated to reading, memorizing, and studying the Scriptures. To teach the Word is to explain the heart of God. Teachers must do so with the fear of the Lord.

James is warning those who would teach that God will judge them with greater strictness. If a teacher expounds on a passage about forgiveness, he or she better exemplify it. If the teacher does not demonstrate what he or she teaches, the message the person conveys is muddled. God challenges teachers to live by His grace, as examples of what they are teaching. The message must be seen as well as heard. The judgment on teachers can be God's swift dealings in circumstances so that the teachers' lives are brought into line with their teaching.

The body of Christ today needs more men and women who devote themselves to the Word of God (Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 2:15). There are Bibles everywhere, and yet we have a famine for hearing the Word of the Lord. So few are willing to devote themselves to understanding the words of life.

Consider: Whether you are called to teach or not, will you devote time every day to getting to know and understand Jesus' words that will not pass away (Matthew 24:35)?