Who is your favorite teacher? Chances are you thought of a name. Maybe it was a favorite teacher in school who made a subject come alive for you. You may have decided on your career path because of that teacher. I think of people like Mark Scott and J.K. Jones who instilled in me a love for God’s Word and a passion for preaching.
Perhaps your favorite teacher didn’t teach in a classroom. Life was their academy. They taught you how to fish, how to golf, how to knit, or how to can your favorite preserves. I think of Frank who taught me how to hunt, how to field dress a deer, and ultimately how to process the whole thing.
Maybe there is a teacher you love to learn from right now. You have a favorite podcast you never miss, a favorite author whose books you always read, a preacher whose sermons you always listen to. I think of names like Philip Yancey, John Ortberg, The One Extraordinary Marriage podcast, the Freakonomics podcast and Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast which are all in my regularly listen and read lists.
In Colossians 3:15-16 we read another one another command to teach and admonish one another. This should be and can be a very good thing in the body. However, it is very easy for this to go off the rails. Because of our stubborn, sinful natures, we can be hard to teach. We don’t want to admit that we don’t know, or aren’t doing it right. It can also be hard to teach others with the right heart. We teach, not out of love, but out of pride. We teach, not to build others up, but to boost our own ego.