The Bible in general and the gospels in particularly have strong warnings to those who consider themselves to be great teachers and examples. Look again at the warnings to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 and/or the implied criticisms of religious leaders in Luke 20. Pick out one warning you would particularly like *your* teachers/leaders/professors to pay attention to, and explain why that warning is particularly important.Thursday, September 12, 2013
Be not called Rabbi, Rabbi (extra credit)
The Bible in general and the gospels in particularly have strong warnings to those who consider themselves to be great teachers and examples. Look again at the warnings to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 and/or the implied criticisms of religious leaders in Luke 20. Pick out one warning you would particularly like *your* teachers/leaders/professors to pay attention to, and explain why that warning is particularly important.
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In Matthew 23, Jesus goes off on a rant of incredibly strait forward and intense criticism. It is in verse 12 where Jesus says, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." This may be somewhat of an over used, and obvious statement, but none the less a life practice which if find myself being constantly reminded of, and pray that those in any sort of leadership role come to understand and practice. Jesus goes on to say in verse 13, "You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces." Even in positions of religious authority God's wisdom, and essentially kingdom can become either shoved down the throats of others, or completely defaced by hypocrisy.
ReplyDelete-Greg Fred
We all do it, but it is very obvious with professors or anyone in a leadership role is the fact of being hypocritical; meaning that a person says one thing and does another or vice versa. It is not specifically stated in Luke, but it is made apparent by the reaction of Jesus. In Luke 20: 27-38 the Sadducees ask a question in dealing with resurrection, which is stated in the verses that the Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection. Jesus can tell they are being hypocritical by asking a question about something they do not believe in. This does not sound hypocritical, but the Sadducees only ask the question to ensnare Jesus. However he uses it to his advantage to teach a major lesson in the Bible. The lesson of how God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. Since we are all human, having times where we are hypocritical is normal, but there are those who are hypocritical a lot more and mostly on purpose. Those in leadership positions such as teachers or professors need pay attention to factors and try not to be hypocritical or they will get called on it. Also some just need to learn all because they have the title or the decree does not mean they are better than anyone else. We are all the same in the eyes of God. -Kelly Longden
ReplyDeleteI think Matthew 23:27-28 are verses to remember. Jesus states, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." I think this is telling leaders that putting a great picture of their lives on the outside, but have filthy lives on the inside are leading lives of sin. It's like pointing one finger at someone, you have four pointed back at yourself. You need to first take the plank out of your own eye in order to help your neighbor get the speck out of his. In other words, recognize your own faults and you can better help others with theirs.
ReplyDelete-Melinda Quade
ReplyDeleteIn the first few verses of Matthew 23, Jesus warns us not to do what the the teachers of the law do. He accuses them of placing heavy loads on the backs of men while they are not willing to lift a finger. I think it is important for leaders and teachers to remember that they need to put even more work into a class than their student is asked to put in. If the teacher is not holding up their end of the deal, the student can quickly become resentful.
ReplyDelete-Claire DeMilia